The job cuts, which were announced as part of Vestas' Q3 results, will mean Vestas has reduced its headcount by nearly 30% since the end of 2011, when it employed 22,700.
There were no indications where the cuts might fall, although some of this would come from natural wastage and divestments. As well as looking at possible divestments, Vestas said it was examining ways of outsourcing supply.
Speaking to Windpower Monthly, Vestas CEO Ditlev Engel said the company was trying to prepare itself for 2013, which was likely "to be a very tough year".
Speaking about the reelection of President Obama, Engel said he thought the PTC would be renewed, but even with this it would be a difficult year in the US. Until the production tax credit extension is passed Vestas would retain its previous estimates of up to an 80% fall in demand, he added.
There was no update on Vestas' talks with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries about taking a 20% stake in the wind turbine manufacturer. Engel said the company was still in talks with a number of companies about jointly developing the V164. He was unable to comment further.
The company said it hoped to reduce costs by €400 million through making the cuts. This follows a similar move by Gamesa last month when the Spanish manufacturer revealed plans to cut 20% of its global workforce between now and Q1 2013 as part of a global restructuring plan.
On the positve side, Vestas said it was expanding its services division.
Vestas said it generated €1.9 billion revenue for Q3, an increase of 49%. The order intake for the period (unconditional and firm) was 401MW, with the order backlog from 30 September valued at €8.3 billion.
However, it posted a negative EBIT of €140 million after write downs from the closure of R&D offices and scaling down in India.
