Now none of Sweden’s three major vehicle manufacturers has any staff laid off anymore. At most, more than 60,000 employees at the companies were laid off.
On Friday, truck manufacturer AB Volvo announced that no personnel have been laid off anymore.
– This is to be seen as a sign that customer activity is higher among Volvo’s customers and then we meet it with higher activity. The overall assessment is that we do not need short-term layoffs, says Volvo’s press manager Claes Eliasson to Ekot.
The corona pandemic has struck hard on the automotive industry and car sales plummeted and the order intake for trucks as well. For a while, all vehicle factories in Sweden also stood still and over 60,000 employees at AB Volvo, Volvo Cars and Scania were laid off. These are three of Sweden’s largest employers.
The automotive industry is also of great importance to the Swedish economy, so how things are going for the export-dependent industry is important for many jobs here in Sweden.
Now the situation looks brighter than last spring. Sales are improving, all employees are now back and working as usual again and all factories produce vehicles.
– We believe that our members think this is positive and give a signal in the right direction. Production is going a lot now, we have a higher level of activity and in general there are signs in the right direction. But it is always difficult to say what the order intake will be in the future, says Peter Månsson, CEO of the Academic Association at Volvo, to Ekot.
The message that also AB Volvo has now ended all short-term layoffs should not be seen as a sign that the danger is over, says press manager Claes Eliasson.
– We also see the spread of infection increasing in the world and whether it can lead to possible new shutdowns is a source of concern, he says to Ekot.
Source: ICELAND NEWS
