Swedish industrial group Volvo, the world's second-largest truck maker by sales, said June 9 it plans to cut 160 white collar jobs at its aeronautics arm.
"This was no easy decision, but it is a necessary one," Volvo Aero president Staffan Zackrisson said of the cuts at its main production site in the southern Swedish town of Trollhaeten.
"Our volumes are decreasing, both in production and product development, while at the same time we need to manage our cost situation," he said.
There was better news for 335 workers at Volvo's truck division who will keep their jobs after a deal with the IF Metall union that will see working hours at a plant cut by 10% and salaries by 4% instead.
Volvo struck a similar deal in May that allowed the company to cancel a further 600 layoffs.
It had issued a notice to over 1,500 employees in April saying they would lose their jobs due to collapsing global demand.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
