Hanna was one of the employees who gathered for the extraordinary meeting on Monday. There, she and the others were met with a cold shower. A thousand employees in Skellefteå are to be let go.
It was confusing, because we got the figures. But we don't know who will be affected. We're still waiting to hear who will be forced to leave the company and who won't, she says.
Hanna and Adam, who actually have different names, left their homeland half a year ago. Adam has worked as a consultant at Northvolt. In May, he was offered a lucrative contract, with double the salary, which he declined, hoping to land a job at the Stockholm office. Now that time feels distant. Instead, the consulting assignment expired when the company introduced a hiring freeze.
I feel sad, because I believed in Northvolt. I thought we would build something together. But it didn't turn out that way, he says.
Not surprised
At the same time, the news doesn't come as a major surprise to him.
I had a feeling all along that something wasn't right. I didn't trust the management and I saw that they didn't follow standards. They failed to meet customer expectations and demands, he says.
Nor is Hanna surprised.
But I like working for Northvolt, because my colleagues are helpful and kind, and I like the atmosphere there, she says.
Even among those who are not directly affected, Northvolt has been Monday's big topic of conversation. Skellefteå resident Anna Pettersson notes that a thousand people is a significant number.
Everyone knows someone who works there, friends' kids and so on, who have enjoyed it. It's really sad, she says.
Risk of housing crash?
Now she hopes it doesn't end with an even higher number of layoffs.
Maybe they should have started low and increased. Instead of starting up here, and then having to cut back, she says, measuring with her hand.
Several people who TT talks to mention the rising housing prices in the city, and all the new construction projects.
What happens now? You're afraid it will be a setback, says Anna Pettersson.
For Adam and Hanna, and many other employees, an uncertain future awaits.
I'm looking for a job in Sweden, because I really like it here. But we'll probably have to move from the city. But if we don't have any other options, we'll have to look to other countries, or return, says Adam.
