At the battery factory Novo Energy, owned by Chinese Volvo Cars, they are planning to lay off every third employee. The director calls it 'a difficult decision'.
Back in October last year, Chinese Volvo Cars bought out the battery company Northvolt from the joint battery factory Novo Energy.
But that hasn't been enough to turn things around at the factory. And now management is planning to lay off every third of the 120 employees.
Novo Energy writes this in a press release .
The reason for the massive round of layoffs is quite simple. The factory itself writes that it has had to adapt to 'changed market conditions' and an 'adapted business plan'.
The announcement means that negotiations with the employees' unions have now begun. And it is far too early to say what they will result in.
"We are making this difficult but necessary decision to adapt our organization to changing market conditions, and it is not something we take lightly," said Adrian Clarke, CEO of Novo Energy, in a brief statement to the press.
The Volvo-owned battery company is far from the only one to be cutting corners at the moment. The same messages are coming from virtually every corner of the automotive industry. Even the car brands are having to tighten their belts.
For example, Volkswagen's CFO believes that the brand will run out of money in just 2 to 3 years if the negative trend is not reversed. In an attempt to save the economy, the brand has announced, among other things, that it will close several factories in Germany.
Other car brands have already succumbed to poor economics. Most recently, American car brand Canooo announced that it is throwing in the towel.
What remains is a billion-dollar debt to several creditors, and a company that actually has less than $50,000 in cash. Partly because director Tony Aquila has been paid millions in salaries and travels on private jets at the car brand's expense.
– We would like to thank the company's employees for their dedication and hard work. We know that you believed in our company, as we did.
– We are truly disappointed that everything turned out the way it did, says Canoo director Tony Aquila in a press release.
Fisker Inc., founded by Danish designer Henrik Fisker, finds itself in a similar situation. The brand's car, the Fisker Ocean, has just been named 'worst of the year' by American Consumer Reports.
– It's not bad to drive at all. But I feel sorry for all the people who bought the car, which is now worthless and cannot be repaired, says Jennifer Stockburger from Consumer Reports.
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