Vestas to lay off 3,000 workers as profit slides

COPENHAGEN, Denmark

Vestas A/S, the world's biggest maker of wind turbines, has posted a 24 percent drop in third-quarter earnings and says it will lay off some 3,000 workers in Denmark and Sweden to adjust to lower demand in Europe.

Net profit was euro126 million ($177 million), down from euro165 million in the same period last year. Sales dropped to euro1.7 billion from euro1.8 billion.

The company, based in Randers, Denmark, said Tuesday it shipped a total of 719 wind turbines, or 27 percent less than in the third quarter of 2009.

Vestas CEO Ditlev Engel says it has become cheaper to build a windmill in Spain than in Denmark and that growth in the European market in 2011 will be below earlier expectations.