The announcement comes three weeks after Meyer Burger – the world’s second-largest maker of PV production equipment – revealed its first quarterly loss since going public in 2006, as its manufacturing customers struggle against a painful global capacity glut.

Meyer Burger says that all employees in Lyss have been guaranteed a job in Thun, some 50km down the road.

The company also intends to formally merge its Meyer Burger Ltd and 3S subsidiaries, two and a half years after finalising its SFr300m ($318m) friendly takeoverof its Swiss peer, which specialises in module production equipment.

The