Enercon has stopped placing orders with key production partners and launched a “transformation programme” to return the company to profitability as the German onshore wind market grinds to a halt.

The manufacturer is “suffering significant losses for the first time”, managing director Hans-Dieter Kettwig said. Onshore wind installations in Enercon’s native German market were down 90% year on year, according to a report by agency Windenergie an Land.

Enercon said its own installation rate has sunk to a 30-year low, installing just 210MW in the first ten months of 2019, according to Windpowermonthly.com. It has now ended cooperation with “several domestic production partners”, including producers of rotor blades and “other components” in Aurich and Magdeburg, the firm stated.

Enercon is also “significantly reducing planning for 2020”, and plans to focus on international markets, “adapt company structures” and freeze recruitment as part of a company-wide cost-reduction programme.