Skellefteå has grown rapidly in recent years. Every week, 50-100 people moved into the municipality last year, about a third of them from abroad.
It's clear that Northvolt has been a huge injection for Skellefteå, which has meant a lot for our extremely strong population growth. But we usually say that this journey started earlier, says Kristina Sundin Jonsson, municipal director.
She was prepared for Monday's massive layoff warning. A heavy message.
Naturally, this was a very sad message for Skellefteå and not least for the people who may be affected. 1,000 people in a layoff warning is an extremely high number, she says.
The Right Time and Place
At the same time, it's possible that the layoff warning comes at the right place at the right time. During the year, unemployment has fallen below 3 percent. With the help of the county administrative board, the Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, other authorities, the business community, and civil society, they will try to keep the laid-off workers in the region.
We see that we really need this workforce. We have major needs in the welfare sector. We have an industry that is crying out for labor. So we will do everything we can to try to catch them.
The municipality also needs to hire and, according to Sundin Jonsson, may be able to absorb some of the laid-off workers.
Absolutely. We have major needs, for example, in healthcare and care, she says, adding that adult education is already activated, and that they are in dialogue with other educational actors.
We'll see the willingness of those who are laid off, of course. But we will try all means.
Requires Education
And what does it take for a battery worker from Northvolt to be able to work in home care or elderly care?
It requires basic education and language skills. Now, most of them are English-speaking, which may also facilitate, she says.
Many Skellefteå residents are wondering what will happen to all the construction projects, and the housing prices that have skyrocketed.
Still, it's happening that people are moving to Skellefteå every week. One of our big problems and challenges is the significant housing shortage we actually have. Next year, we had a forecast that only about a couple of hundred would be built, and we would need maybe 800-1,000. Right now, we're mainly struggling to catch up with housing construction, says Kristina Sundin Jonsson.
