The Volvo Group, which has announced thousands of layoffs in recent months, said on Jan. 13 it would slash another 1,620 jobs, 1,020 of them in its trucking division. "Volvo Trucks has announced an additional 1,020 layoffs and then another part of the Volvo Group, Volvo Powertrain, has announced 600 additional layoffs," company spokesman Anders Vihelmsson said.
The Volvo Trucks cuts would hit a factory in the northern Swedish town of Umeaa the hardest, slashing 670 jobs there, while a factory in the southwestern city of Gothenburg would lose 350 jobs.
The layoffs at Volvo Powertrain, which produces heavy engines, gearboxes and driveshafts, would meanwhile affect two Swedish factories, one in the southwestern town of Skoevde and the other in the central town of Koeping.
Including the layoffs announced on Jan. 13, Volvo's trucks division has since the end of September said it would cut 3,020 jobs in Sweden and Belgium, while its machine and construction equipment arm has said it will lay off 2,350 people.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
