Volvo Cars is busy avoiding the increased punitive tariffs from the EU. That's why the brand is now moving large parts of production to Belgium. 350 new people will be needed.
Volvo could face serious financial pressure from the EU's punitive tariffs on Chinese electric cars. That's why the brand has chosen to move large parts of its production to Europe. This means finding hundreds of new employees.
The move of production to Volvo's factory in Ghent, Belgium, is expected to create many new jobs. And not just directly at the factory, but at several subcontractors.
There are already plans to hire 350 new employees who will assemble the EX30 model for the European market.
Even though these are initially limited-time contracts, it is still a positive development for the local economy and employment.
This is the opinion of a number of subcontractors who have been offered more work. Volvo says that they are looking for both people with experience from the industry and completely new faces.
The EX30 model has been a commercial success for Volvo and is currently the third best-selling electric car in Europe.
The car is also a hit here. In 2024 alone, Volvo in Denmark had over 2,700 copies of the model on Danish license plates. This corresponds to 1.6 percent of all cars sold last year.
So far, however, those cars have primarily been shipped from China. But far from all car brands are happy about the punitive tariffs.
Paradoxically, BMW is one of the brands that has complained the loudest. The Germans would rather compete with the Chinese without punitive tariffs.
Back at Volvo in Belgium, the move from China is expected to increase production at the Ghent factory, which experienced a decline in assembly lines during 2024.
At the same time, it will also benefit subcontractors that depend on the automotive industry. One of these is Adient, a car seat manufacturer with a factory in the Belgian town of Assend.
Volvo has already asked Adient to produce the seats for the European EX30 models. This means that one subcontractor alone is looking for at least 100 new people.
– This is excellent news for us, says an Adient manager to the VRT media.
The EU's punitive tariffs on electric cars have been a controversial topic. Several car manufacturers, including Volvo's owner Geely, have criticized it and even sued the European Commission. Tesla has done the same.
Volvo isn't the only automaker hiring right now, though. While the Volkswagen Group plans to cut up to 35,000 jobs by 2030, other brands like Toyota are actively looking for new employees.
Toyota's factory in France has an urgent need for over 600 employees and is also short of at least 100 new employees every month. Read more about it here .
This may be a consolation for the many who are currently losing their jobs. The latest figures show that the largest companies alone laid off 54,000 people in the automotive industry last year.
