Volvo Cars to cut 2,000 jobs in Sweden as part of major savings plan

Volvo Cars to cut 2,000 jobs in Sweden as part of major savings plan

Roughly 2,000 jobs are set to be cut at Volvo Cars in Sweden as the carmaker seeks to save five billion kronor a year.

Volvo Cars has unveiled a five-billion-kronor cost-cutting plan expected to result in around 2,500 job cuts, including 2,000 in Sweden and a further 500 across its global operations. The company said the reductions would be achieved through natural staff turnover and targeted exit packages.

Finance director Fredrik Hansson told TT that the cuts would primarily be carried out through voluntary departures and strict limits on new hires. He added that the company would not disclose the exact balance between the two approaches.

Hansson also said that most of the job cuts would affect white-collar workers in the Gothenburg area rather than production workers.

The announcement follows Volvo Cars’ report of an operating loss of 5.6 billion kronor over the past three months, compared with an operating profit of 6.4 billion kronor during the same period last year.