Photo voltaic panel producer Qcells revealed on Friday that it will furlough one-third of its employees at its two crops in Georgia. The 1,000 workers will quickly have decreased pay and dealing hours as a consequence of elevated detentions by U.S. Customs and Border Safety (CBP) of photo voltaic cells and different upstream panel elements. Qcells may also lay off 300 employees from staffing companies on the two crops.
Qcells 1.7-GW module manufacturing facility in Dalton, Georgia
The federal authorities has stepped up enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which restricts Chinese language items made with compelled labor from coming into america. CBP started detaining silicon photo voltaic cells made by South Korean-headquartered Qcells earlier this summer season. Qcells has repeatedly acknowledged that its merchandise don’t use Chinese language elements. The corporate has a protracted historical past of utilizing polysilicon from fellow South Korean firm OCI and makes use of element manufacturing in Southeast Asia.
The dearth of satisfactory photo voltaic cell provide signifies that Qcells can not full panel meeting at its Georgia manufacturing crops, thus requiring the non permanent discount in working hours. Regardless of Qcells being one of the first domestic manufacturers to begin development on new photo voltaic cell and wafer manufacturing operations, the corporate remains to be solely performing panel meeting in america.
An identical CBP detention has been affecting Maxeon, a photo voltaic panel producer with some Chinese language financing however no documented connection to compelled labor occurring in China. Maxeon’s Mexico-assembled panels have been prevented from coming into the nation since summer season 2024, regardless of the corporate offering 1000’s of pages of paperwork demonstrating full compliance in UFLPA. Maxeon has resorted to submitting a grievance with the U.S. Court docket of Worldwide Commerce and is awaiting updates amidst the federal government shutdown.
In Maxeon’s case, the once-global firm now solely focuses on the U.S. market. Maxeon offered its European, Asian and Latin American gross sales channels and entities, whereas protecting its Mexican meeting plant and transferring ahead with plans for a 2-GW photo voltaic panel manufacturing facility in New Mexico. With most of its merchandise unable to get into the nation, Maxeon financials have nosedived. The corporate reported $39 million in income for the primary six months of 2025, whereas it reached $371 million for a similar interval in 2024. Plans for the U.S. manufacturing facility have paused.
Marta Stoepker, Qcells senior director of company communications, mentioned in an announcement to native information that the corporate was compelled to reduce manufacturing “whereas our shipments into the U.S. have been delayed within the customs clearance course of.
“Qcells expects to renew full manufacturing within the coming weeks and months. Our dedication to constructing your entire photo voltaic provide chain in america stays,” she continued. “We are going to quickly be again on observe with the total power of our Georgia crew delivering American-made power to communities across the nation.”
