Volvo, a unit of Ford, said on Oct. 8 it planned to cut more than 3,000 jobs in Sweden and abroad in addition to the 2,000 cuts announced earlier this year. "This morning, the Swedish Public Employment Service has been informed of additional redundancies affecting around 2,000 blue collar employees and 700 white collar employees in Sweden," Volvo said.
"Outside Sweden, an additional 600 employees will be made redundant and some 700 contracts with consultants will be terminated," it added.
The layoff announcement was the second from Volvo Cars since June, when it previously said it would cut 1,200 jobs in Sweden and 800 abroad. "The total redundancy actions now planned to be initiated account for 6,000 people worldwide, of which 1,200 are consultants," it said.
Company chief executive Stephen Odell insisted that the latest layoffs were needed. "These are difficult times for the car industry in general, including Volvo. These actions are necessary to create a new and sustainable Volvo Car Corp., a company with more focused operations and structure," he said. "The unstable economic environment has resulted in a very unpredictable situation, and the downturn in the global car industry is more drastic than expected."
At the end of 2007, Volvo Cars had 24,400 employees worldwide, including 17,600 in Sweden.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
