Volvo plans to layoff 600 employees

DUBLIN, VA (CBS)- Volvo has announced layoffs that could mean more than 600 people will soon be jobless in Virginia's New River Valley.

Volvo spokesman Jim McNamara says these are permanent layoffs affecting hourly workers at the Dublin, Virginia plant. Nearly 1,000 employees were laid off at the facility last Spring.

The upcoming layoffs were said to be brought on by declining customer demand which has led to reduced production capacity. These cuts, expected in March and April, will sideline 40 percent of the truck assembly plant's remaining workforce.

Volvo to lay off 3,000 staff in Sweden

On the back of a previous announcement to lay off 2,900 staff earlier this year, Volvo has revealed it plans to make an additional 3,000 employees redundant. The latest round of cutbacks will affect 2,000 factory workers and 700 office staff in Sweden.

Stephen Odell, Volvo’s chief executive, insists the layoffs are necessary to the survival of the beleaguered Swedish auto manufacturer. In a press release, Odell stated: “These are difficult times for the car industry in general, including Volvo. These actions are necessary to create a new and sustainable Volvo Car Corporation, a company with more focused operations and structure. The unstable economic environment has resulted in a very unpredictable situation, and the downturn in the global car industry is more drastic than expected.”

The Local newspaper reported that outside Sweden, a further 600 employees will be terminated along with about 700 contracts with consultants. This is the second layoff announcement from Volvo since June, when it originally forecast lower layoff numbers. But the global financial crisis has changed everything, and the automaker has been forced to significantly increase its redundancies.

“Given the turbulence in the world economy over the last few weeks … it is clear that further costs saving actions are necessary for the company to manage the difficult market situation. The new organisation is expected to be in place by the end of the year,” Volvo said in an official statement.

Volvo Cars to lay off 1,500 employees

STOCKHOLM, Jun 25, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Swedish Volvo Cars said Wednesday that it was going to cut 1,500 jobs following a big first-quarter loss on declining sales.

The 1,500 jobs include 1,200 workers in Sweden who had already received layoff notices and 300 positions overseas. Meanwhile, contracts with about 500 consultants will also be cancelled, according to an announcement from Volvo headquarters in the Swedish second largest city Gothenburg.

The reduction in personnel is part of a sweeping program to reduce costs by 4 billion kronor (about 661 million U.S. dollars).

The work to overhaul the organization will continue through the fall and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

"We have to meet these worsening market conditions, primarily in the American market. The market's contribution to covering Volvo Cars' total costs is, at the present time, too little," Volvo Cars CEO Fredrik Arp said in a statement.

The decision is a "difficult but necessary measure to reach a better financial position," he added.

Volvo Cars, owned by U.S.-based Ford Motors, suffered a loss of 900 million kronor (about 151 million dollars) in the first financial quarter of the year.