All employees of the Swiss-based consortium behind the controversial Nord Stream 2 project have been fired, Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin announced.

Last week, German authorities suspended procedures for authorizing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, a $11 billion project that would have doubled Russian gas supplies to Germany in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, according to Agerpres.

Parmelin has announced that the Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 has laid off about 140 employees.

This controversial project is one of the most visible commercial victims of the conflict in Ukraine. The United States also imposed sanctions last week, banning other companies from doing business with the Swiss-based consortium.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has long been pressured by other Western states to become less dependent on Russian gas, but Berlin’s plans to shut down all nuclear power plants by the end of 2022 and all coal-fired power plants by 2030 have severely curtailed its available options.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck described the accelerated expansion of renewable energy capacity as a key element in the goal of making Germany less dependent on fossil fuel supplies from Russia.