MOUNTAIN IRON — Solar panel manufacturing company Heliene is laying off 93 workers from its Mountain Iron facility, according to a Thursday, Aug. 6, notice.
The company cited "unforeseen business circumstances" as the reason for reducing its operation and laying off employees in a notice to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development.
The laid-off employees' last day was Wednesday, but they will continue to receive pay until their employment officially ends Oct. 4.
Positions affected by the layoffs include line operators and quality engineers, inspectors and technicians.
Employees are not represented by a union.
The Iron Range has been impacted by multiple mass layoffs over the past two years, including hundreds of mine workers and 77 employees of a Hibbing/Chisholm drill bit manufacturer.
The corporate headquarters for Heliene is in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.
Heliene produces bifacial, high-efficiency crystalline solar photovoltaic modules "with the highest possible percentage of domestic content available on the market," according to the company.
The Mountain Iron facility houses two manufacturing lines totaling 800 megawatts of annual production capacity. It broke ground there in September 2021 in a business park across the street from an entrance to U.S. Steel's MinnTac taconite mine.
MinnPost reported that business park was first occupied by another solar panel manufacturer, Silicon Energy, which closed in 2017. It had garnered controversy for its dismal output — despite receiving millions from the state of Minnesota and local governments.
Heliene was expected to spend $9.5 million for its Mountain Iron manufacturing line in 2021. State and local governments also contributed millions for the new building. The Legislature contributed $5.5 million to Mountain Iron for the expansion, according to MinnPost. The state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development and the Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation each provided a $2.75 million loan for the project. St. Louis County offered a $1 million grant.
Heliene opened another factory in April 2025 in Rogers as an expansion to its manufacturing operations. According to a June 2025 news release, the company anticipated hiring 220 new employees for that facility. It received $2.3 million in funding from DEED to support that job creation.
Around the time of the ribbon-cutting for the Rogers facility, clean energy advocates and industries were grappling with Trump administration proposals to gut Biden-era plans to provide tax incentives to combat greenhouse gases. Heliene CEO Martin Pochtaruk told MinnPost the company was holding off on its decision to build a third plant in Minnesota until the fate of the tax credits was clear. The Trump proposal was ultimately not included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
