GE Vernova’s offshore wind turbine manufacturing plant has fired or suspended several workers in Quebec after a company investigation found they took shortcuts on quality control, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
GE Vernova launched the probe at the factory in Gaspe, Quebec, after one of the 107-meter-long turbine blades it made shattered at the Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts in July. Shards of fiberglass littered the beaches and forced the project to temporarily shut down.
GE Vernova owns the Gaspe plant through its LM Wind Power subsidiary.
One source familiar with the matter said certain managers at the company had pushed workers to go faster to improve performance which resulted in errors.
"There were corners cut," the source said.
Another source said the investigation triggered the firing of several Gaspe employees, including supervisors.
Both sources asked not to be named discussing the matter.
Radio-Gaspesie was first to report on the findings of the GE Vernova investigation.
Jean Éric Cloutier, president of the union representing workers at the Gaspe plant, said this week the company has taken matters seriously, but did not provide details about the probe’s findings.
He said nine managers were laid off and 11 union members were suspended.
"An employee committee has also been created to prevent quality problems re-occurring. We are proactive and determined not to let poor management dictate our fate again," Cloutier said.
GE Vernova said it had taken “corrective actions” at the Gaspe facility but did not elaborate.
"We are confident in our ability to implement these corrective actions and move forward," the company said.
An LM Wind Power spokesperson declined to comment.
The Vineyard Wind turbine incident was not the only time a GE Vernova blade has malfunctioned.
One of its turbines came apart in May at the massive Dogger Bank A project off the UK coast, and another at the same site failed during high winds and seas in August.
GE Vernova has said the incidents are unrelated.
Vineyard Wind would not comment on the matter.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said the agency was conducting its own investigation into the Vineyard Wind blade failure but did not comment specifically on the GE Vernova quality control matter.
(Reuters - Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal, Nichola Groom in Altadena, California, and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen; Editing by David Gregorio)
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