The factory is cutting its workforce in half (Image: Getty)
A factory on the Isle of Wight has confirmed it’s halving its workforce, meaning 300 people will lose their jobs. The cut was confirmed this week, while the 300 remaining positions will be saved through Government funding. Ed Miliband has handed the factory a £20 million grant, while the company has previously described the factory as uneconomic. The factory, located in Newport, is owned and operated by Danish manufacturer Vestas and specialises in making blades for offshore wind turbines.
However, the substantial grant will be used to convert the factory to make blades for onshore wind farms. Staff were told in December 2024 that half of the jobs there could be cut, a concern that has now come to fruition. Climate minister Katie White said the grant was a “no-brainer”, explaining that it made sense for the Government to intervene and “create the country’s only dedicated onshore wind blade facility on the Isle of Wight”.
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The UK is aiming to rapidly expand the country’s wind energy production, hoping to become a superpower in renewable energy. Despite this, the Newport factory has been described as economically inefficient.
“While our thoughts are with those who have lost their jobs, by safeguarding over 300 roles, we are protecting one of the Isle of Wight’s largest employers and giving Britain the ability to produce the homegrown, clean power we need to bring bills down for good,” said climate minister Katie White.
While questions might be raised about the grant, funded by the taxpayer, a spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “Logistical constraints on the site meant the Danish manufacturer could not produce the next generation of larger offshore blades.
“Mr Miliband intervened with an agreement for the factory to switch its operations to become the country’s only onshore wind blade manufacturing site.”
The government wants to expand the UK’s wind-energy production (Image: Getty)
The factory had made blades for the Vestas V174 offshore turbine. These were 85 metres in length, but the latest V236 offshore models have much larger blades that measure 115 metres long.
The factory is unable to produce these, so its only viable way forward is to produce blades for onshore windfarms. Reform UK have been among the parties to criticise such moves from the Government.
Richard Tice, Reform UK’s energy spokesman, said: “This is yet another example of the chaos, job losses and costs added to our bills by the Government’s obsession with net zero.”
The Labour government recently lifted a ban on onshore wind as part of its clean energy plans. Its current onshore wind strategy would create up to 45,000 skilled jobs across the country by 2030, it says.
“Vestas and the Isle of Wight have a long, proud history of manufacturing world-class wind turbine blades,” said Ken Kaser, senior vice president of blades manufacturing at Vestas
“We are delighted to partner with the government on actions and policy that support that safeguards skilled jobs, strengthens the UK’s supply chain, and positions the site at the heart of the country’s clean energy sector’s future.”
Vestas also employs around 140 people on the island in technical jobs. The company said that these will not be affected.