Oliveira de Frades, Portugal, Oct. 29, 2025 (Lusa) - Siemens Gamesa has decided to close its wind generator blade repair facility in Oliveira de Frades, Viseu, leading to the redundancy of around 100 workers, a situation that the local mayor has already regretted.
"To ensure long-term competitiveness, Siemens Gamesa has decided to close its rotor blade and blade repair facilities in Oliveira de Frades, as there is no workload planned for the coming years," an official Siemens Energy source told Lusa.
In the same note, the official wrote that Siemens Gamesa, as a global company, operates in a "very dynamic market environment" that requires constant evaluation.
"We are constantly evaluating our manufacturing presence to remain competitive and return to profitability," he wrote.
Regarding the redundancy notice given to around 100 workers, he said that Siemens Gamesa is "committed to minimising the impact of such decisions on its employees".
"Approximately half of the Oliveira de Frades employees will receive a transfer offer within Siemens Gamesa," he said.
The mayor of Oliveira de Frades, in the district of Viseu, João Valério, told the Lusa news agency that the decision "surprised him, but it was already somewhat expected, after the closure of the unit in Aveiro" at the beginning of the year.
In January this year, Siemens Energy told the Lusa news agency that the collective redundancy of 222 workers at its wind blade factory in Vagos, in the district of Aveiro, was due to a reduction in the work schedule from February.
In a written response sent to the Lusa agency, an official Siemens Energy source said that the company "is implementing comprehensive restructuring measures to return to profitability" and that, as part of this, it will have to adapt its production capacity to the halt in sales of its 4.X and 5.X onshore turbines.
"This applies to our plant in Vagos, Portugal, where our current work plan foresees a significant reduction from February 2025. This is why we have to cut 222 jobs from the current 1,300," said Siemens Energy.
At the time, the German multinational said the announced restructuring would affect only the Vagos plant in Portugal and would not affect the unit in Oliveira de Frades, in the district of Viseu, both of which are owned by its subsidiary Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Blades.
The decision to close Oliveira de Frades was communicated to the mayor, "although they didn't have to do it, but since they took such care, if they had done it earlier, it might have been possible to negotiate a phased dismissal" of the workers.
Even so, the mayor acknowledged that in the industrial area there is a shortage of labour, and it seems that some entrepreneurs are willing to take on some of the 100 or so workers who have been informed of the redundancy.
The local authority, said João Valério, is also liaising with the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) for "future referral of workers, together with the social action office".
"The closure of a company always causes economic and social damage. Now it's up to us to work to keep bringing companies to Oliveira de Frades to mitigate the damage caused by this closure," said João Valério.
Now, added the mayor, "there's going to be a problem, which is that unit in the industrial zone, which still has no solution" for the facilities that are there, without knowing if "it's going to be a warehouse, another type of business or if they're going to sell".
IYN/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
