On Friday, Mats Persson is traveling to Skellefteå to form an opinion about the situation after battery manufacturer Northvolt's major layoff notice on Monday.
I'm going there to take part in the local effort, where the municipality and the state are cooperating, and of course to listen to the picture presented by the representatives of the employees, he says.
He himself received the layoff notice "with dismay".
All those people who are affected by this and who are worried now and who are waiting to hear what will happen to them – it's clear that we all sympathize with them, he says.
Time pressure for non-Europeans
For non-European employees, it's a matter of finding a new job within three months from the last working day, otherwise, they will be forced to leave the country.
But you also meet a strong labor market and have good opportunities to find another job, and thus be able to stay in Sweden. We would like nothing more than for hardworking people from other countries to create a future in our country, he says.
He sees, however, a risk that they will leave Sweden, and take with them the competence they have in an area considered important for the green transition.
We are making a strong effort just to ensure that we can offer the employees other jobs in the region, or for that matter other jobs in Sweden, precisely because it is a unique competence that Sweden needs.
"Review the rules"
Skellefteå municipality also needs employees in healthcare and social services and could consider retraining former Northvolt workers. Even local IF Metall believes that workers would be interested in it. However, the median salary for a healthcare assistant in Skellefteå is 25,121 kronor. To obtain a work permit, a salary of 28,480 kronor is required.
We believe that you need to review these rules. We have a need for labor in the public sector. There, we have our collectively agreed lowest wages, and we believe that they are the reasonable ones to use, says Kim Bodén, chief negotiator at Skellefteå municipality.
Mats Persson is not bringing any new messages or promises to Skellefteå.
We have had and have problems with the exploitation of foreign labor in Sweden, and then this has been a measure to prevent people from being exploited. Now, I welcome a discussion about exactly what salary level you should have, says Persson.
Over 1,700 people work at Northvolt in Skellefteå, Västerås, and Stockholm with work permits from third countries, i.e., outside the EU.
According to Northvolt's website, the company has 6,500 employees globally, of which 3,800 worked in Skellefteå before the summer.
The company has expanded rapidly. By the end of 2023, it had a total of 5,800 employees from 160 countries, according to the annual report.
Sources: The Migration Agency, The Employment Agency, Northvolt
