Energy Conversion Devices to Divest Battery Business

Energy Conversion Devices ENER CEO Knoll, "At the same time, we recognize the urgent need to improve our competitiveness now and for the future in response to fundamental shifts in market dynamics and are therefore focused on our strategic corporate restructuring to reduce cost, globalize our sales and enhance our technology. As part of these initiatives, we have completed a company-wide reduction-in-force of approximately 300 associates which we expect will reduce labor expenses by more than $15 million on an annual basis coupled with an additional $5 million of other annualized cost reductions. We are also closely examining our technology roadmap to find areas where we can reduce capital expenditures, improve manufacturability and shorten ramp-up times. While this may result in near-term delays to our roadmap, we will ultimately strengthen our operational capabilities to deliver higher-efficiency and lower-cost products to our customers." "In addition, we recently announced that we would divest our Ovonic Battery Company subsidiary to focus on our solar business. We believe that we are taking the right steps to improve the company's operations and strengthen the company for the future," concluded Knoll.