Islanders fear impact of potential Vestas job losses

People living near the Vestas factory on the Isle of Wight have said they are concerned about the potential impact of job losses on the area.

It was announced earlier this month that up to half of the 600-strong workforce at the Newport site could lose their jobs as demand for the blades they make comes to an end.

The company said it hoped to give more clarity about jobs in the new year when its consultation period ends.

Nathan Bennett from Renewable UK said the facility did not have the right infrastructure to manufacture the blades.

To adapt to the change the factory is preparing to swap to producing smaller onshore turbines at a cost of up to 300 jobs.

For the island, losing manufacturing jobs has felt particularly hard as it is a holiday destination with a large services industry.

Sarah Redrup, from Grace's Bakery, said she would like to see companies like Vestas "thrive and do more" for the locals.

"I've got friends [who work at Vestas] and my partner used to work there," she said.

"They've got a lot of training there [and] an opportunity to gain a skill that can take them all over the world."

Mr Bennett said that offshore wind turbines had been "much smaller" when the factory was built 20 years ago.

"Today they are more than three times that scale, " he said.

"Unfortunately, the facility just doesn't have a large enough infrastructure to manufacture these blades."

Meanwhile, the renewables industry continues to grow, as the Labour government said it wanted to double its onshore wind target and more than treble its offshore wind target.

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