As previously reported, Credit Suisse analyst Michael Weinstein downgraded SunPower to Neutral from Outperform, stating that the company still needs to prove distributed generation and manufacturing margin structure and find a strategic partner for capacity expansion. While he still thinks the successful 201 tariff exemption and the IRS safe harbor are positive factors, they are not enough to overcome the cost of the early stage ramp up of distributed generation. Weinstein cut his price target on SunPower shares to $7 from $10.

SunPower told employees today it was eliminating 1,000 positions, more than 25% of its workforce. In a letter to staff, Tom Werner stated: "I'm writing to share difficult news with you as we implement changes across our organization in the days and weeks to come. To position SunPower for the future, we need to achieve financial viability, which includes simplifying our business structure, transitioning away from areas where we have been unable to sustain profitable operations, and improving financial controls. As such, we are moving to a low fixed-cost model that we believe we will be able to better flex when the market is up or down. Specifically, we are winding down our SunPower Residential Installation locations and closing SunPower Direct sales. We are also reducing our workforce to better align our business with our new focus. With this shift, we will reduce our workforce by approximately 1,000 people in the coming days and weeks. While we worked hard to avoid this outcome, the market has been slower to recover than we initially expected. Additionally, we have dedicated resources to improving our financial controls, and will continue to do so. We believe this shift in our strategy is necessary to safeguard the company's future." Reference Link