Solar Stocks Surge as SolarEdge Lays Off 16% of Its Staff to Cut Costs

SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) shares gained over 3% in intraday trading Monday after the maker of solar power equipment said it would slash its workforce to cut costs as demand slumps. Shares of other solar stocks, including Sunrun (RUN), Enphase Energy (ENPH), and First Solar (FSLR), also rose.

The company said it would be laying off 900 employees, or about 16% of its staff, with about 500 coming from its various manufacturing sites.

CEO Zvi Lando said that the job cuts and other moves to reduce expenses were needed for SolarEdge “to align our cost structure with the rapidly changing market dynamics.” He added that the company is still confident about the long-term growth of the solar market, and the changes “do not impact our strategic direction and priorities.”

SolarEdge noted that it has already taken several steps “to align with current market conditions.”  Those included ending manufacturing in Mexico, reducing manufacturing capacity in China, and terminating the company’s light commercial vehicle e-mobility activity. 

It added that further details about the moves would be provided when the company releases earnings at the end of February.

In November, SolarEdge reported its third quarter sales plunged 27% from the prior quarter, with Lando saying that drop reflected “a slow market environment, which has resulted in high inventory of our products in the distribution channels, in particular in Europe.”

The broader solar industry has been hurt by high home prices and mortgage rates, which make solar panels less attractive. In addition, a drop in the amount of compensation California homeowners receive for sending electricity back to the grid reduced demand in that state, the biggest U.S. market for solar.

SolarEdge Technologies shares were up 3.2% at $71.36 per share at 1 p.m. ET Monday following the news. They’ve lost more than three-quarters of their value over the past year.