In a move sending ripples through the U.S. renewable energy sector, Qcells, the American arm of South Korea's Hanwha Solutions, has announced significant operational changes at its Georgia manufacturing plants. The company said on November 7, 2025, that it will temporarily cut pay and reduce working hours for about 1,000 of its 3,000 employees in the state, a direct result of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detaining imported solar panel components on suspicions of forced labor links to China.
The decision also includes laying off 300 agency workers at Qcells' Dalton and Cartersville plants, both located northwest of Atlanta. This abrupt shift has placed a spotlight on the broader tensions between U.S. enforcement of anti-forced labor laws and the Biden administration’s push for domestic renewable energy manufacturing.
According to The Associated Press, the trouble began when U.S. officials started detaining solar cells made by Qcells in June 2025. These detentions were part of stepped-up enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, a 2021 law designed to prevent goods made with forced labor in China—especially in the Xinjiang province—from entering the U.S. market. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly announced the increased enforcement in August, signaling a tougher stance on any suspected links to forced labor in the supply chains of imported goods.
Qcells, for its part, maintains that its supply chains are clear of any such links. Company spokesperson Marta Stoepker said, “Our latest supply chain is sourced completely outside of China and our legacy supply chains contain no material from Xinjiang province based on third party audits and supplier guarantees.” She added that the company has implemented “robust supply chain due diligence measures” and maintains “very detailed documentation,” which has helped secure the release of some shipments already held at U.S. ports.
Despite these assurances, the CBP’s actions have forced Qcells to slow its assembly lines. Without the necessary components, the company simply can’t operate at full strength. As Stoepker explained, “Although our supply chain operations are beginning to normalize, today we shared with our employees that HR actions must be taken to improve operational efficiency until production capacity returns to normal levels.”
Qcells has made it clear that the pay cuts and reduced hours are intended to be temporary. Workers affected by these measures will retain their full benefits during the furlough period, and the average pay remains at about $53,000 per year. The company says it expects to resume full production in the coming weeks and months as supply chain operations stabilize. However, the layoff of 300 agency staff underscores the immediate human impact of the ongoing trade and enforcement dispute.
The timing of these disruptions is particularly notable. Qcells is in the final stages of completing a $2.3 billion plant in Cartersville. This new facility is designed to take polysilicon refined in Washington state and turn it into ingots, wafers, and solar cells—the fundamental building blocks of finished solar modules. The goal is to reduce reliance on imported solar modules and establish a fully domestic supply chain for solar energy components in the United States.
This ambitious expansion comes despite significant policy headwinds. Earlier in 2025, President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress dismantled most of the tax credits that had previously incentivized the purchase of solar panels. This move threatened to undercut the economic viability of solar manufacturing in the U.S. and cast doubt on the future of domestic clean energy initiatives. Yet, Qcells has remained steadfast.
“Our commitment to building the entire solar supply chain in the United States remains,” Stoepker emphasized. “We will soon be back on track with the full force of our Georgia team delivering American-made energy to communities around the country.” The company’s determination to finish the Cartersville plant, even as federal support wanes, signals a long-term bet on the resilience and importance of U.S.-based renewable energy manufacturing.
For many workers in Dalton and Cartersville, these developments have brought uncertainty and anxiety. While the company’s promise of full benefits during furloughs provides some reassurance, the reality of reduced pay and hours—combined with the layoffs—has left families in limbo. Qcells has said it pays its workers an average of about $53,000 a year, a figure that underscores the importance of these manufacturing jobs in the local economy.
The broader context is equally complex. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was passed with near-unanimous bipartisan support in 2021, reflecting widespread concern over human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region. The law presumes that any goods made wholly or in part in Xinjiang are the product of forced labor, unless proven otherwise. This has put the onus on companies importing goods from China—or even those with indirect links to Chinese suppliers—to provide extensive documentation proving their supply chains are clean.
For Qcells, this has meant investing heavily in third-party audits, supply chain tracing, and documentation. The company insists that none of its materials or components come from China or involve forced labor, pointing to “robust supply chain due diligence measures” and “very detailed documentation” as evidence of its compliance. These efforts, according to Stoepker, have already enabled the release of some detained shipments.
Still, the ongoing detentions highlight the challenges facing global manufacturers in an era of heightened scrutiny and geopolitical tension. The renewable energy sector, in particular, finds itself caught between the crosscurrents of U.S. trade policy, human rights advocacy, and the urgent need to scale up clean energy production to meet climate goals.
As Qcells works to bring its Cartersville plant online and restore full operations at its Georgia facilities, the company’s experience serves as a case study in the complexities of building a domestic clean energy supply chain. The stakes are high—not just for the workers and communities directly affected, but for the broader U.S. effort to transition to renewable energy while upholding human rights and fair labor practices.
For now, Qcells and its employees are navigating a period of uncertainty, hoping that the normalization of supply chain operations will allow them to return to full strength soon. The company’s resolve to continue investing in U.S. manufacturing, even in the face of regulatory and policy obstacles, reflects the larger challenges and opportunities at play in America’s clean energy transition.
How this episode ultimately resolves—whether through regulatory clarity, supply chain adaptation, or renewed federal support—could shape the trajectory of U.S. solar manufacturing for years to come.
