Foundation maker CS Wind Offshore lays off 220 in Denmark

The cancellation of large offshore wind projects and the general development in the market is now forcing wind sector subsupplier CS Wind Offshore to lay off workers at its monopole factory at the Port of Odense, where activities will come to a complete standstill for a period.

The company, formerly known as Bladt Industries, will lay off around 220 employees at the factory, writes CS Wind in a press release.

“Over the past few years, our employees have worked very hard to get our monopile factory up and running in full operation. We have made great progress, so it is very regrettable that we see no other option than to make cutbacks due to lack of new orders,” says Knud Bjarne Hansen, vice chairman of CS Wind, and continues:

“We are truly saddened by the impact this is likely to have on good and highly competent colleagues who have dedicated their time and effort to the company. This includes not only our own staff, but also the many subcontractors who support our work in various ways. We are committed to ensuring a proper and thorough dialog with our employees and supporting them to move forward in the best possible way.”

Several offshore wind projects have either been postponed or canceled. Most recently, the US offshore wind project Empire Wind, led by Norwegian Equinor, was put on hold, while all approved offshore wind projects must have their permits reviewed again.

This creates shockwaves all the way down the supply chain and thus also affects CS Wind.

Even though there will be a lack of orders for monopiles in the future, Hansen emphasizes that CS Wind remains committed to the business area and expects demand for the company’s monopiles to return.

“CS Wind acquired Bladt Industries to expand our offshore product offering, so there is no doubt that we want to stay in the monopile business. It’s also important to note that we will of course finalize the delivery of the monopiles we currently produce at the Port of Odense, so the planned workforce reduction will take place over the next three to- nine months,” he says.

CS Wind Offshore is a business unit of the South Korean group CS Wind, which acquired the company in December 2023.

EnergyWatch is trying to get a more detailed comment from CS Wind.

English edit by Daniel Frank Christensen