Evergreen Solar operations executive leaving

* Evergreen Solar operations executive Archbold leaving

* Company cites move toward contract manufacturing

* Shares down 2 pct to $1.93

LOS ANGELES, Aug 19 (Reuters) - U.S. solar company Evergreen Solar Inc's ESLR.O vice president of operations, Rodolfo Archbold, will resign this month, the company said on Wednesday, citing its push toward contract manufacturers for cell and panel production.

Evergreen, which makes silicon wafers used in solar panels, said in in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that its plan to outsource manufacturing to cut costs had altered the need for a worldwide manufacturing operations executive.

Evergreen, which is based in Marlboro, Massachusetts, plans to expand in China, where it will build a 100 megawatt plant though a deal with Jiawei Solarchina Co Ltd.

The company's results have lagged analysts profit expectations this year. It posted a slightly bigger-than-expected second-quarter loss in July as well as a loss in the first quarter.

Archbold, the out-going operations executive, is leaving effective Aug. 28 and is expected to have a severance agreement that will continue paying his salary and benefits for six to 12 months, according to the SEC filing.

Archbold has led Evergreen's operations since 2007 and previously worked as an operations consultant at Teradyne Inc (TER.N), which makes test equipment for the electronics and telecommunications industries.

The solar power industry has suffered this year as the credit crunch has choked off financing for new projects, creating a global glut of solar panels. That has sent prices falling and hurt companies' profits.

Shares of Evergreen were down 4 cents at $1.93 in trading on the Nasdaq on Wednesday. (Reporting by Laura Isensee; editing by Steve Orlofsky)