bp solar factory closing in sydney....

In the news BP Solar have just announced that they are shutting down their solar panel factory in Sydney due to production costs....

Just thought some of you DYE holders may find it interesting.

Details below:

BP Solar factory to close, 200 jobs lost
(November 18, 2008 12:38pm)

THE closure of a solar panel factory will leave 200 people out of work.

Staff at the BP Solar factory in Sydney arrived at work on Tuesday morning to be told their jobs would be lost.

The factory, in the city's west, will shut its doors for good in March. Workers will be offered redundancies.

Production of the solar panels will be shifted to "lowest cost manufacturing countries", BP Solar said. The company makes panels in India, China, the US and Spain.

The company said lowering production costs would bring down the cost of solar power for consumers.

The Sydney factory's location, small size and lease arrangements posed a problem, according to BP Solar's world boss Reyad Fezzani.

And it was too far from the suppliers of silicon, which the company uses in its panels.

"We deeply regret the job losses," Mr Fezzani said.

"It is a sad day for us as a company and for the Sydney plant."

He said the company was talking to employees about what the closure would mean for them.

At least 80 per cent of the panels made in the factory were exported.

BP Solar will continue its sales and marketing operations in Australia.