The Union Club has had an initial negotiation with the company management.
We have gone through the company's economic situation. And what I can say is that it is very strained right now, says Victor Matinlassi, chairman of the Union Club at Northvolt in Stockholm, to TT.
He has not yet received any concrete information about how many people will need to leave the company. But the picture is that savings are urgently needed.
Measures soon
That's why we need to have a measure in place soon. Because we can't continue as we have done. It's not sustainable, says Victor Matinlassi, who expects the company management to come up with a sharp decision or decision, possibly already by the end of this week.
The units in Skellefteå, Västerås, and Stockholm will likely all be affected, he believes.
There will probably be slightly different measures for the different parts. But what's most important is that we need to secure production up in Skellefteå, that's the core business for Northvolt. So that has top priority, says Matinlassi.
It's roughly the same picture that CEO Peter Carlsson conveys when he talks about the way the company "consumes capital" not being sustainable.
"Further decisions"
I must also say, unfortunately, that the road ahead for Northvolt will also be a turbulent one. We are forced to make further decisions that are painful, to secure the company's long-term profitability, he is said to have said in a meeting with employees on Monday afternoon according to the newspaper Norran.
Even though Monday's news that Northvolt is slamming on the brakes is painful for the employees, it didn't come entirely unexpectedly. The battery giant has long been struggling with problems in its startup phase.
Production has been going poorly. Customers, including truck manufacturer Scania, have complained about delayed deliveries. And all the time, Northvolt is bleeding enormous sums of money, which means the company constantly needs to take in new billions from its owners. And when major shareholder and customer, German Volkswagen, has its own problems, it makes things even more difficult.
A cost-cutting program has now been launched, investments are being put on hold, including the unit that manufactures anode material at the factory in Skellefteå, which is being shut down, at least temporarily.
Owner and major customer Scania is one of those affected by Northvolt's problems.
We have a very close dialogue with Northvolt, says Erik Bratthall at Scania's press department.
Otherwise, it's closed doors, for example, about how battery deliveries are going right now.
