Volvo Reportedly Laying Off Several Hundred Employees, Production Won’t Be Affected

Volvo is looking to cut down on expenses, and one of the measures it plans to take is reduce its workforce, which has nearly doubled to 43,000 in the past decade.

According to a Swedish radio report, quoted by Reuters, the automaker will lay off several hundred employees. We spoke to a Volvo spokesperson, who confirmed the company’s plans without getting into specific details on the number of job losses.

“We can confirm we are taking actions”, he said. “As a growing company, Volvo Cars is constantly reviewing its cost base, which becomes even more important in light of the headwings the industry is facing.”

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CarScoops also asked about the potential number of employees affected and what savings they’re expecting from this action, but the spokesperson declined to comment. The Volvo representative did confirm that plant workers don’t have to worry about losing their jobs.

“We don’t have numbers to share, but changes will primarily impact consultants working within the company. Staff related to direct production will not be impacted.”

In the first quarter of the year, the Swedish automaker saw a 19.3 percent decrease in operating profit. The net income also dropped by 21.6 percent.

Overall sales were, on the other hand, up by 9.4 percent in global markets, with 161,320 cars sold. Europe was the company’s biggest market, with 86,624 units delivered, followed by China and the U.S., with 29,886 and 22,058, respectively. In all of these regions, Volvo witnessed an increase of 8.9 percent, 3.9 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively.

The best-seller was the XC60, followed by the XC40 and XC90, in this order. Demand for the latter dropped by 3.9 points, while sales of the other two were up compared to Q1, 2018.