Vestas announces 440 job cuts at Odense port facility

Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas will lay off 440 employees at its nacelle production site on Odense Harbour in Munkebo, a move that has shocked workers, unions, and local officials, DR reports.

The cuts, announced late Tuesday, target night and weekend shifts, which will close permanently. Employees now face uncertainty as negotiations begin over who will be affected. “It’s been a very turbulent night. People are shocked—this came out of nowhere,” said Benjamin Friis Nymann Pedersen, a night-shift worker at the plant. His brother Christoffer, also employed there, called the news “a very strange feeling. I don’t know what to do with myself, but I’m just trying to make the best of it.”

Kerteminde Municipality’s mayor, Michael Nielsen (Conservative), described the layoffs as “a tough blow” for both workers and the local economy. “This is a really bad day for Kerteminde. We haven’t seen a layoff round this large in a long time,” he said, noting recent cutbacks at other harbour-based firms like CS Wind, which slashed production last year. The municipality now faces the challenge of reemploying hundreds of workers, though it remains unclear how many reside locally.

Dansk Metal, the metalworkers’ union, called the announcement “a bolt from the blue.” Local chairman Mikkel Munk Festersen said the union represents around 250 Vestas employees, primarily in production. “We had no expectation of this. More of our members had been getting jobs there, so this is a complete surprise,” he said. While workers’ skills could ease transitions to other roles, Festersen lamented the broader decline at Odense Harbour, urging new investments in energy infrastructure or naval shipbuilding.

Vestas defended the cuts as necessary to align staffing with production needs. “These decisions are always difficult, but we must ensure our organisation reflects our requirements,” a company spokesperson told MarketWire.

Odense Harbour, owned by Odense Municipality, has focused on offshore wind production since the former Lindø shipyard closed. The site’s operator expressed regret over the layoffs but declined further comment, citing ongoing dialogue with tenants.