Ballard Power Systems has revealed plans to cut jobs, streamline operations and potentially scrap its Chinese joint venture to save over 30% in spending as it prepares to weather a slow-down in the hydrogen market.
Paul Dobson and Mark Biznek will leave their roles as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO), as Ballard sets out on a bullish restructure.
The Canadian fuel cell firm said the measures were necessary to reduce corporate spending and maintain balance sheet strength as the adoption of hydrogen technology continues to face delays.
Randy MacEwen, Ballard’s President and CEO, said the firm saw a “multi-year push-out” of the availability of low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen and infrastructure.”
“In the context of,” a challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical outlook, combined with policy uncertainty, MacEwen said the delays represent a “significant headwind” to Ballard’s growth plans.
With the scope of its cost reduction including job cuts, a streamlining of product development and operations, the company expects the measures to save over 30% in OPEX.
The Ballard boss also said the firm is conducting a strategic review of its Chinese strategy, following “continued challenges” in the Chinese fuel cell market and “underperformance” of its Weichai Ballard joint venture.
Furthermore, as suggested during Ballard’s most recent investor call, MacEwen said Ballard was reviewing “financing optionality” to extend its “funding timeline” on its planned 3GW fuel cell factory in Texas, which has secured millions in federal funding.
Read more:Ballard’s 3GW hydrogen fuel cell factory in question amid stalling market adoption
“Given the leverage from the $94m in US government funding awards, we continue to carefully assess our proposed investment for long-term manufacturing capacity expansion in Texas,” he said.
Kate Igbalode takes over from Dobson as CFO effective immediately, while Lee Sweetland will become COO at the end of 2024. Both Dobson and Bizneck are expected to support the new appointees.
Despite the wide-ranging measures, Ballard says they are not expected to impact product delivery and programme execution.
“While the speed of travel has changed, we have unwavering conviction on the direction of travel, with clean hydrogen and fuel cells playing an important role in decarbonising heavy mobility applications,” MacEwen said.
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