Dive Summary:

• Miasole is among a group of companies making next-generation solar panel technology that are now suffering layoffs and even bankruptcies.
• The main contributing factor to the company’s fallout is that the price of silicon has plummeted, making traditionally designed solar panels inexpensive and thus eliminating the need for cheaper next-generation panels.
• Several months ago, Miasole announced that it had raised $55 million to help it enter new markets and boost it sales staff, but the recent layoff announcement says the focus is now shifting to the company’s long-term success by way of cost-cutting.

From the article:

Miasole, a startup that’s raised over $500 million for its next-generation thin film solar technology, is laying off around 200 people, reports Venture Wire. Miasole said yesterday that it planned to “reorganize manufacturing and operations” but didn’t give details beyond that.

Miasole makes a type of next-generation solar panel technology that uses the combo of materials, copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS), to convert sunlight into electricity. A group of these companies have raised billions of dollars to create this technology, and many of them are now suffering layoffs and even bankruptcies (the most famous of these is Solyndra). ...