Vestas Wind Systems chairman and his deputy unveil departure plans just 24 hours after chief financial officer announces exit
A massive sweep-out of senior executives at Vestas, the world's biggest maker of wind turbines, was under way on Wednesday, with the chairman and his deputy saying they would not stand for re-election at the forthcoming annual general meeting.
The departures of Bent Erik Carlsen and Torsten Erik Rasmussen follow the exit 24 hours earlier of the chief financial officer and deputy chief executive, Henrik Nørremark, which leaves the chief executive, Ditlev Engel, as one of the few board members still standing.
The Danish company, which has a research and development base on the Isle of Wight and plans to build a factory at Sheerness in Kent, has record order levels of 9,550MW of turbine capacity, worth almost €10bn (£8.33bn). But it has also just suffered a larger-than-expected net loss in 2011 and warns it may not be profitable in 2012.
Vestas has been hit by low-cost competition from China and uncertainty over European subsidy levels but has also continually failed to meet its internal targets with cost overruns and operational failures.
Hundreds of jobs have been cut and some factories closed and there have been calls for Engel to resign.
The closure of a production plant on the Isle of Wight in 2009 was badly handled, leading to an occupation by British workers and a stream of political criticism.