40,000 jobs are expected to disappear in a wave of layoffs! European solar employment sees its first drop in a decade

The latest solar jobs report from European trade body SolarPower Europe (SPE) shows that employment in the sector follows broad market trends. SPE says significant growth in solar installations from 2022 to 2024 will lead to an "extraordinary" expansion of the sector's employment base, making solar "Europe's strongest employment engine."

However, market growth slows in 2025, primarily in the rooftop and residential sectors, the most "employment-intensive" parts of the solar industry. Solar installations are projected to grow by only 3.3% in 2024, compared to annual growth rates of between 30% and 50% in the previous three years.

Although the number of solar jobs is projected to grow by 5% in 2024, significantly higher than the 0.8% growth in the EU labor market, SPE predicts a contraction this year. The report states that the solar industry could lose approximately 40,000 jobs by 2025, falling from 865,000 to approximately 825,000. The report states: "This setback reflects both the failure of policy frameworks to adequately attract solar investment and meet consumer demand in the post-energy crisis environment, and global overcapacity in production, which is facing significant competitive pressure on European manufacturers."

"However, this is not necessarily the beginning of a decline," the report's authors write, adding that EU-wide solar and storage policies, including fostering new entrants into the solar job market and developing training programs, could lead to a recovery in the industry.

"The medium-term outlook still projects employment to recover from 2026, reaching over 916,000 jobs by 2029," the report predicts.

PV factory layoffs, with panel manufacturing seeing the largest job losses

SPE says the majority of solar jobs are in deployment; in 2024, approximately 744,000 of the 864,000 total jobs will be in deployment.

Last year, operations and maintenance (O&M) jobs reached approximately 66,000, manufacturing around 40,000, and the emerging decommissioning and recycling sectors supported approximately 14,000 jobs. The report states that deployment jobs predominate over operations and maintenance (O&M) roles, reflecting the labor-intensive nature of installing solar panels on rooftops and in fields. The relatively stable nature of solar installations means demand for O&M jobs is low, and SPE predicts that artificial intelligence, automation, and digital monitoring technologies could further reduce O&M job opportunities.

In the manufacturing sector, Europe's industry struggles are reflected in employment data. The report states that manufacturing is projected to eliminate 2,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2024 and 5,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2023, with the majority of these losses occurring in module production, thanks to the closure of several EU manufacturers, including Meyer Burger, Solarwatt, Systovi, Exasun, Energetica, and Recom Sillia. These shutdowns translate directly into losses in both production capacity and employment.

The majority of manufacturing jobs remain in inverter and polysilicon production, where Europe still has significant production capacity. SPE states that 80% of manufacturing jobs are in inverter companies, with approximately 1,000 jobs lost in 2023. 32,000 full-time positions, an increase of approximately 2,000 positions from the previous year.

However, this overall growth masks challenges facing many EU inverter manufacturers, some of which were forced to cut jobs in 2024. High inventories at wholesalers, weaker-than-expected market demand due to falling energy prices, uncertainty about subsidies, and aggressive pricing from global competitors have all created a difficult operating environment for domestic producers. Furthermore, polysilicon accounts for 10% of EU solar manufacturing jobs.