Volvo Group slashing workforce due to COVID-19

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Updated Jun 18, 2020

Volvo Trucks North America logoVolvo Group announced Tuesday it will reduce its global white-collar workforce by more than 4,100 positions during the second half of 2020.

The move was brought on by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and the company’s need to dramatically adjust its operations, install flexibility and accelerate the transformation towards sustainable transport solutions.

“The [COVID-19 pandemic] and the global measures taken to fight it has led to a market situation impacting our industry severely,” says Volvo Group President and CEO Martin Lundstedt. “The effects are expected to be lower demand going forward and we need to continue to adjust our organization accordingly. In parallel, we will accelerate the competence shift needed for new technologies and business models.”

Volvo Group has been adjusting its activity levels by using installed flexibility for nearly a year, terminating temporary and consultant contracts. During the second half of this year, the group plans to further decrease the white-collar workforce with approximately 4,100 positions — whereof around 15 percent are consultants. Approximately 1,250 of these positions are in Sweden.

The company adds the need for staff reductions would have been higher without various governmental support packages enabling short-term layoffs and other similar measures.

Staff reductions will be carried out in different ways across Volvo Group depending on the local business situation, country legislation and labor market practices, the company says. In some countries, including Sweden, the planned measures include notices of redundancy.

“The Volvo culture will continue to be our guiding star in this work, where we will work as one team together with the unions to make this adjustment in a responsible way,” says Lundstedt. “With these changes the Volvo Group will maintain a position of strength, be adapted to the new market situation and continue to be a leader in the transformation towards sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions.”

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