Volvo cuts 1300 jobs as COVID-19 speeds up transformation

The company says that the exact nature and amount of job reductions will be decided over the coming months in negotiations with the unions. However, Volvo states verry clearly that its manufacturing operations will not be affected. Volvo Cars has previously been very clear that it aims to lead the transformation in areas such as online business, electrification, autonomous drive and new mobility models. While the company has invested and grown substantially in these areas, it now aims to reduce in non-focus areas to support further growth longer-term. The company also aims to become more agile and reduce hierarchies that are slowing down decision-making and execution. Although the notices are part of the ongoing realignment of the company’s operations in line with its long-term ambitions and need for structural cost reductions, the coronavirus pandemic has increased the pertinence of the measures announced today. “The coronavirus pandemic is affecting us in the short term, but we expect volumes and growth to return,” says Hanna Fager, head of People Experience, in a press release. “So we need to continue investing in our ongoing transformation and new business areas, by reducing structural costs.” Volvo Cars was the first conventional car maker to commit to electrifying its entire line-up and phasing out cars only powered by an internal combustion engine. The company also established a new and still rapidly expanding battery development lab in Torslanda, an investment of approximately SEK 600 million (EUR 56 million). There are further multi-billion SEK investment plans in its Swedish operations to adapt its industrial footprint to new technologies, securing jobs in the long term.