Northvolt is expected to have an agreement with the trade unions in a few days.
It's naturally very exciting, it is. And it's paralyzing. Therefore, it's important that the negotiations are clarified, says Camilla Frankelius, chief negotiator at the Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers.
Many people are ending up in a difficult situation, she adds.
Losing the Right to Stay in the Country
Frankelius now hopes that other employers will take the opportunity to recruit former Northvolt employees who are being forced out in the downsizing.
There are companies that have contacted the trade unions, and we see this as a golden opportunity, also when it comes to getting skilled workers from IF Metall's leadership, says she.
Northvolt has a total of approximately 1,700 employees from countries outside the EES area – most from India, Pakistan, and Turkey, according to Dagens Nyheter. They have their work permits tied to their jobs and will lose the right to stay in the country if they don't get a new job with a salary of at least 28,480 kronor per month within three months.
The downsizing – in combination with paused major projects and the bankruptcy of the subsidiary Northvolt Ett Expansion – is a crucial piece of the puzzle when the battery manufacturer is to secure new multi-billion agreements with owners, lenders, and customers.
Frankelius believes it will be roughly as Northvolt has said, i.e., around 1,600 who will have to go:
Many times, companies take a little, but this time we believe it's very close to what has been said.
"Tough Financial Situation"
No support from Northvolt – beyond salary for already completed work – is not feasible, according to Frankelius. It doesn't matter if those affected have just invested in the trip here or had large expenses to establish themselves in Sweden.
In this case, it's unfortunately not so. Northvolt is in such a tough financial situation that it's not possible.
However, economic support can be offered through the security councils that the trade unions and employers provide.
This is offered to all employees, even those who are not union members. But they must have worked at a company affiliated with a security council for at least a year – which means that new arrivals at Northvolt are particularly hard hit.
From Northvolt, the lid is on in the tight situation right now.
"We plan no communication over the weekend," writes press chief Matti Kataja in an SMS.
Northvolt announced in September that they need to lay off 1,600 employees and paused a long list of major projects. They have also applied for bankruptcy for the subsidiary Northvolt Ett Expansion, with multi-billion debts.
The management is currently negotiating with lenders and investors about some form of support package, worth around 200 million euros (approximately 2.3 billion kronor) according to several news agencies. There are reportedly oral commitments of 150 million. According to the newspaper Dagens Industri, they are also negotiating advance orders for batteries from Northvolt's factories, which can help secure the company's long-term survival.
The potentially dramatic problem with the payment to the Tax Authority of over a quarter of a billion kronor by Monday – which could force a bankruptcy application – has meanwhile been downplayed by Northvolt's co-founder and CEO Peter Carlsson. "Of course, I believe we will solve this," he wrote in an email to SVT on Thursday.
