General Electric Co is cutting jobs at its onshore wind energy business. The downsizing is part of a plan to restructure and shift the company's strategy. Currently, the main problems for GE are weak demand, rising costs and supply chain delays, four well-informed sources have told Reuters.

On 5 October, the company announced job cuts in North America, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. Reductions in the onshore wind turbine sector in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region are also planned for later. It is expected that the job cuts will affect 20% of the onshore wind energy workforce in the US. One source indicated that this would amount to several hundred employees.

GE confirmed to Reuters that it is “streamlining” its onshore wind business in response to market realities, although it did not directly comment on the job cuts.

“These are difficult decisions that do not reflect the dedication and hard work of our employees, but are necessary to ensure the business can compete and improve profitability over time,” a spokesperson for GE Renewables said in an emailed statement.

The onshore wind business is the largest of GE’s renewable energy units, employing a total of 38,000 people worldwide at the end of 2021. This GE division has recently been facing serious challenges, struggling with higher raw material costs due to inflation and supply chain pressures.

In the United States, which has been GE’s most profitable onshore wind market to date, policy uncertainty following the expiration of renewable energy production tax credits last year has impacted customer demand, resulting in a decline in the division's revenue this year.