CDU politician criticizes German government after Meyer Burger plant announcement

The deputy chairman of the CDU, Andreas Jung, has accused the federal government of failing to act following the announcement by solar manufacturer Meyer Burger that it is preparing to close a large plant in Saxony. "The traffic light is blindly accepting such investment decisions against Germany," said the energy policy spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group in the Bundestag on Friday.

"By cutting back instead of strengthening, it is endangering jobs in the east and the energy security of the future," criticized Jung. Germany must not become completely dependent on China for future energies. The German government had failed to react to the situation: "Decisive action is the order of the day now at the latest."

The solar company Meyer Burger announced on Friday morning that it was preparing to close its plant in Freiberg, Saxony. Instead, the solar module manufacturer intends to ramp up production in the USA. The group justified the move with a lack of support from politicians to counteract current market distortions in solar modules. Other manufacturers in the solar industry have also recently threatened to close local plants: China is flooding the market for solar modules with price dumping and financial support from the state is needed to maintain the industry in Germany.

Meyer Burger claims that its Freiberg factory is the largest solar module production facility in Europe. 500 people are employed at the Freiberg site.