Hard blow for the employees of the photovoltaic panel company Photowatt. Carbon announces that it will not buy the site from EDF. Very bad news.
Carbone does not buy the Photowatt photovoltaic panel factory
The Lyon start-up Carbon will not take over Photowatt, a subsidiary of EDF and a historic player in photovoltaic panels in France. This announcement leaves pending is the future of the Bourgoin-Jallieu (Isère) factory and its 170 employees. In a context marked by Chinese domination of the solar panel market, this withdrawal raises questions about the future of the French solar industry.
The takeover of Photowatt by Carbon was initially planned for a symbolic euro. This project was part of a “Made in France” relaunch strategy, supporting Carbon’s ambition to develop a giga-factory for solar panels in Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône). However, internal social tensions decided otherwise.
The negative opinion given by Photowatt's social and economic committee (CSE) plays a crucial role in this decision. Staff representatives express their doubts about the viability of the recovery plan proposed by Carbon. Added to this is the refusal of access to the site to carry out technical surveys, essential for the establishment of a new production line.
A market under pressure
Photowatt's situation is part of a difficult economic context for the European solar industry. For several years, European manufacturers have been facing increased competition from Chinese photovoltaic panels, produced at lower cost. Thus, Photowatt, despite its history and its ambitions, has never managed to find a profitable trajectory since its takeover by EDF in 2012, following a legal recovery. Each year, the factory posts around 30 million euros in losses, according to several sources.
Carbon's decision to abandon the takeover leaves Photowatt in a delicate situation. EDF, owner of the subsidiary since 2012, has not specified the next steps for this plant, which has been struggling with difficulties for years. The guarantee of job retention for 24 months, initially planned as part of the recovery plan, is no longer relevant. The specter of judicial liquidation hovers more and more around the company.
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