Volvo is joining the ranks of car brands that are forced to reorganize due to significant setbacks and uncertainties. Initially, Volvo will cut 3,000 jobs, mainly in office positions.
Uncertainties about import duties, which Volvo, as a European subsidiary of a Chinese company, may suffer from more than some other car manufacturers, not only provide a possible and far-fetched link between the Volvo 480 and Volvo EX30. More serious pain must also be suffered at and by Volvo. The brand announces a restructuring that should yield savings of around 1.6 billion. Volvo is cutting approximately 15 percent of office functions worldwide, which amounts to 3,000 jobs. This round of layoffs is not as large as at Nissan, but still significant. In Sweden alone, it concerns 1,200 employees. The reorganization should be completed in the fall of this year.
Like many large companies, Volvo mainly points accusingly at the circumstances when it comes to the causes of the setbacks. CEO Samuelsson does not go into further details, but feel free to think of threatening or already introduced import duties in (or for) the EU and the United States. The disappointing market situation in China may also play a role, as may setbacks in the field of EV adaptation in combination with the high development costs of electric vehicles, increasing competition from (other) Chinese car manufacturers, and general uncertainty about the future of the automotive world. We know the drill by now, because so many car manufacturers say they are experiencing it.