Siemens Gamesa lays off workers in Kansas, Iowa

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Siemens Gamesa says it is laying off workers at its plants in Hutchinson, Kansas, and Fort Madison, Iowa. In Hutchinson, the company manufactures wind nacelles, which hold the generating components in a wind turbine. The Iowa plant manufactures wind turbine blades. The company told employees Wednesday that 69 jobs will be cut in Hutchinson and 121 Fort Madison. In a news release, the company cited a mandated halt in production during deliberations in a patent infringement case as one reason for the job reductions. The other factor, the company said, is uncertainty about potential new climate change legislation in the U.S.