Israeli solar energy company SolarEdge Technologies (Nasdaq: SEDG) is laying off 900 employees including 550 in Israel, the company has announced. This represents about 16% of the company’s workforce and follows weak financial results and a fall in the company’s share price. Most of the layoffs in Israel are at the company’s headquarters in Herzliya with the rest at the offices in Tziporit Park near Nof Hagalil.
At the end of 2022, SolarEdge reported that it had 5,000 employees including 2,700 in Israel but the number grew in 2023 and according to the company’s website it has 5,814 employees. Taking into account that two months ago SolarEdge CEO Zvi Lando told “Globes” that over 350 employees, or 11% of the workforce in Israel, were serving in the army reserves, the company likely has more than 3,100 employees in Israel.
SolarEdge develops and markets solutions for the solar energy industry including inverters, optimizers and batteries and communications devices for monitoring solar energy systems.
In the past SolarEdge was the most valuable Israeli company on Wall Street with a market cap of nearly $20 billion at its peak but it is currently traded with a market cap of just $3.9 billion. The company’s share price fell 67% in 2023 and since the start of 2024 is down a further 26%. SolarEdge’s share price hit a four-year low last week. In 2023 the company’s share was relegated from the S&P 500, on which it had been listed since 2021.
The plummet in SolarEdge’s share price is due to the weakness in the solar energy market in which the company is operating. The company issued a profit warning before its third quarter results in 2023 and gave weak guidance for the fourth quarter.
Lando said, “The decision we have taken has been very difficult but necessary in order to adjust our costs structure to the rapidly changing market situation. We are making major efforts to treat our departing colleagues with due respect, especially in the complex period we are in, express gratitude for their contribution, and support them during the transition period. Even now, we are confident in the continued growth of the renewable energy market in the long term and in our leading position in this field. The current changes will not affect the company’s vision and strategic direction. We are committed to continuing to lead the renewable energy revolution, to support our customers, and to provide them with innovative and leading technology in the field.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on January 21, 2024.
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