Volvo has axed approximately 1,300 office-based jobs in its native Sweden. The move is stated as a cost-cutting measure brought on by economic headwinds, increases in the pricing of raw materials and stiff competition in the market.
CEO Jim Rowan confirmed in a statement that while the group’s efficiency drive has begun to bear results, more effort was required to keep it going and build on that.
“The industry is also transforming quickly on electrification, software and core computing technologies, as well as direct customer engagement. We gained early mover advantage and are advancing towards our 100 per cent electric ambition. We will continue to invest in the skills, technologies and tools needed to help create safe and sustainable mobility for our customers. Implementing structural change and driving increased efficiency across the entire company allows us to do this,” said Rowan.
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According to the statement, about 1,100 of those jobs will be from Volvo’s main global operating unit, Volvo Personvagnar. The remaining 200 or so positions to be axed will be confirmed following a review of the company’s entities across Sweden.
As for the 1,100 positions, Volvo’s already issued lay-off notices and alerted union reps to inform the government. The 200 white-collar roles will be issued the notices once identified after the review.
In total, the 1,300 positions represent around 6 percent of Volvo’s Swedish workforce.
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As for the exact savings recouped from the axed jobs, Rowan admitted they haven’t calculated exact figures yet.
Moving forward, Volvo also expects to continue cutting jobs, reducing consultancies and lowering bought services to reduce costs on a global scale. Rowan said the positions affected would primarily be office-based ones. For now, the cost-cutting won’t include production line jobs at their manufacturing operations.
Source: Volvo lays off 1,300 jobs in cost-cutting bid, more to come