Due to prolonged US customs delays, Qcells says it has temporarily furloughed over 1,000 Georgia factory employees and 300 contractors
Its Cartersville and Dalton factories have been operating below capacity as shipments await clearance at the borders
Qcells expects to resume full production in the coming weeks or months, reaffirming its US manufacturing commitment
Owing to delays in the US customs clearance for its shipments, Qcells has been under-operating its solar PV manufacturing factories in Georgia for several months now. As a result, it has now decided to furlough more than 1,000 employees at these sites. The decision also impacts 300 staffing agency employees.
A part of South Korea’s Hanwha Solutions, Qcells confirmed the development with WSB-TV Atlanta recently. The company’s spokeswoman, Marta Stoepker, shared that as the company’s shipments into the US were delayed in the customs clearance process, it has reduced operations at both Cartersville and Dalton plants. Affected workers have been placed on either paid leave or have had their wages and working hours reduced.
Stoepker reportedly stated, “Qcells expects to resume full production in the coming weeks and months. Our commitment to building the entire solar supply chain in the United States remains. We will soon be back on track with the full force of our Georgia team delivering American-made energy to communities around the country.”
TaiyangNews reached out to Qcells for confirmation and details, but the response was awaited till this report was published.
Qcells was among the first solar PV companies to announce plans to establish a full-scale PV manufacturing base in the US, soon after the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was introduced in the country. It aimed for 8.4 GW of ingots, wafers, cells, and module capacity in Georgia, and later also unveiled plans for an encapsulant fab, also in Georgia (see US Solar PV Encapsulant Fab From Hanwha Group).
Meanwhile, Qcells’ parent Hanwha Solutions reported a decline in solar module sales for Q3 2025, offsetting it with the expansion of its US residential energy business , the sale of development assets, and increased EPC sales .The company’s CFO Jeong Won-yeong said, “In the fourth quarter, the renewable energy division is expected to see lower operating rates and decreased sales at U.S. module plants due to strengthened customs regulations, including inspections of the U.S. customs supply chain.”
The company is not alone in facing problems at the US Customs, which has been known to routinely block solar products from entering the country to check for their compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).
Maxeon Solar Technologies faced the same issues in accessing its biggest market, the US, which hampered the company’s financials as the US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) detained its Mexico-manufactured solar modules. In April 2025, Maxeon said it is establishing an alternative manufacturing and supply chain amid the US tariff onslaught (see Maxeon Establishing Alternative Manufacturing & Supply Chain).