SunEdison to layoff 10% of its workforce as investors question its strategy

According to a new report from GTM on Sunday, SunEdison sent out an internal memo last Friday to announce an important restructuring process which will include laying-off about 10% of the company’s workforce. The restructuring comes amid investor concerns about the company’s strategy which has been “all over the place” lately. Most notably, the company’s acquisition of the residential solar installer Vivint for $2.2 billion earlier this summer.

The decision to buy a residential solar provider was out of SunEdison’s core business, which mostly consist of developing utility-scale solar projects. Now the company might have to sell some of these projects in order to get rid of mounting debts (~$10 billion).

GTM reports that “teams within SunEdison” are tasked with looking at selling-off portfolios of projects.

The company’s stock plunged by 72% during the last 3 months – starting not long after the company purchased Vivint.Monday morning the company sent out a press release announcing the restructuring process to investors. They justify the layoffs as a way to “simplify its business structure by removing duplicative activities created as a result of recent M&A activities and business growth”. The company will also focus on “high profit-potential markets” which they identify as the U.S, India, China and Latin America.

SunEdison’s stock increased by 4% in pre-market trading following the press release,

CEO Ahmad R. Chatila and CFO Brian Wuebbels are scheduled to discuss the new strategy in an investor presentation Wednesday, October 7.