South Korean solar giant Qcells has cut pay and hours for about 1,000 Georgia employees and laid off 300 temporary staff after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detained shipments of solar components suspected of links to forced labor in China.
The detentions follow tighter enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which bars imports containing materials from China’s Xinjiang region. Qcells, however, insists that its supply chain is completely free of Chinese content and supported by independent audits and supplier guarantees.
“Our latest supply chain is sourced entirely outside China,” said Marta Stoepker, the company’s spokesperson. She added that Qcells is cooperating with authorities and expects production to normalize “in the coming weeks and months.”
The disruptions have slowed operations at Qcells’ plants in Dalton and Cartersville, which employ roughly 3,000 workers. Despite the setback, Qcells continues construction of its $2.3 billion solar manufacturing complex in Cartersville, aimed at producing American-made solar ingots, wafers, and cells to reduce import dependence.
Qcells employees will retain full benefits during the reduced schedules, and the company says it remains committed to expanding its U.S. clean energy footprint.
