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VOLVO

Volvo unions on board as deal looms

The takeover of Volvo by Zhejiang Geely Holding looks set to go ahead on Sunday as unions linked to the Swedish car maker agreed to the Chinese company's purchase.

Published: 28 March 2010 12:14 CEST
Volvo unions on board as deal looms
Chinese workers assemble a car at a plant that may produce Volvos in the future

“We have received all the information that we were looking for,” Glenn Magnusson, head of management organisation Ledarna, told TT news agency after two meetings with US-based Ford and Geely management in Gothenburg on Saturday.

“As far as the unions are concerned, we are in favour of the agreement.”

Unions, fearing job cuts, had earlier demanded more details on the transaction.

Magnusson did not provide details on the talks with management, saying he and his colleagues from other unions had signed a confidentiality agreement.

Asked whether the Chinese company had given a guarantee that jobs would remain in Sweden, Magnusson said, “we have obtained a response to our questions.”

Volvo has 22,000 employees worldwide, including 16,000 in Sweden.

A Volvo spokesman earlier told AFP that, barring any last-minute glitches, the signing of the deal will take place on Sunday afternoon when a press conference is scheduled or on Monday.

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VOLVO

Sweden’s Volvo regains strength after pandemic puts brakes on earnings

Swedish truck maker Volvo Group was hit by a sharp drop in earnings due to the coronavirus pandemic, but business rebounded at the end of the year.

Published: 3 February 2021 12:21 CET
Sweden's Volvo regains strength after pandemic puts brakes on earnings
Volvo Group CEO Martin Lundstedt. Photo: Adam Ihse/TT

In 2020, the group saw “dramatic fluctuations in demand” due to the Covid-19 pandemic, chief executive Martin Lundstedt said in a statement.

For 2021, Volvo raised its sales forecasts in its trucks division – its core business – in Europe, North America and Brazil.

However, it said it also expected “production disturbances and increased costs” due to a “strained” supply chain, noting a global shortage of semiconductors across industries.

The truck making sector is particularly sensitive to the global economic situation and is usually hard hit during crises.

In March, as the pandemic took hold around the world, Volvo suspended operations at most of its sites in 18 countries and halted production at Renault Trucks, which it owns, in Belgium and France.

Operations gradually resumed mid-year, but not enough to compensate for the drop in earnings.

With annual sales down 22 percent to 338 billion kronor (33.4 billion euros, $40 billion), the group posted a 46 percent plunge in net profit to 19.3 billion kronor (1.9 billion euros).

Operating margin fell from 11.5 to 8.1 percent.

However, the group did manage to cut costs by 20 percent.

“We have significantly improved our volume and cost flexibility, which were crucial factors behind our earnings resilience in 2020,” the group said.

Volvo's business regained strength in the second half of the year.

“Customer usage of trucks and machines increased when the Covid-19 restrictions were eased during the summer and this development continued during both the third and fourth quarters,” it said.

“Both the transport activity and the construction business are back at levels on par with the prior year in most markets.”

For the fourth quarter alone, the company reported a 38-percent rise in net profit from a year earlier.

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