June 6 (Reuters) - Renewable power company FuelCell

Energy ( FCEL ) said on Friday it had laid off 22% of its

workforce, as part of a global restructuring plan to reduce its

operating expenses by 30% annually.

Shares of the company rose 8.5% in premarket trading

following the announcement.

FuelCell said the new plan follows a global operational

restructuring in

November

, which included a workforce reduction of nearly 13%.

High interest rates and policy uncertainties around

capital-intensive clean energy projects have forced many

renewable energy firms to reevaluate their expansion plans.

The company said it has a total of about 426 employees

worldwide following the latest reduction in workforce.