SunEdison Reveals Cost Reduction Actions In Merano, Italy & St. Peters, Missouri

(RTTNews) - SunEdison, Inc. (SUNE) said it would indefinitely close its shuttered polysilicon manufacturing facility in Merano, Italy immediately. This is the conclusion of a process that began with the prior announced 2011 global restructuring plan.

The Merano polysilicon facility was shuttered in December 2011, as part of a restructuring plan to better align the business with current and expected market conditions and improve overall cost competitiveness. For the past couple of years, SunEdison explored several options to enhance the cost effectiveness of the Merano polysilicon facility. Ultimately, the identified cost reductions were not enough to sustain the economic viability of the plant in the current market environment. The indefinite closure would impact nearly 200 employees at the Merano polysilicon plant.

The associated electronic grade TCS (trichlorosilane) operation, employing nearly 35 people, would be closed over the next year. Owing to the indefinite closure of the polysilicon manufacturing facility and TCS operation, the firm expects about $37 million of fixed asset impairments for the year 2013.

In addition, SunEdison would begin a plan to consolidate its semiconductor crystal operations, which would include the transitioning of small diameter crystal activities in its St. Peters, Missouri facility to its other crystal facilities in Korea, Taiwan and Italy. The crystal manufacturing consolidation would affect about 100 employees in St. Peters and would be implemented over the next 12 months.