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Volvo Cars to cut six percent of its Swedish workforce

Chinese-owned Volvo Cars of Sweden announced on Thursday that it would cut 1,300 white-collar positions in Sweden in an effort to cut costs and warned that global cost-cutting measures were on the horizon.

Volvo Cars to cut six percent of its Swedish workforce
Photo: Joakim Ståhl/SvD/TT

CEO Jim Rowan said in a statement that cost-cutting measures taken last year had started to “bear results” but “it’s clear that we need to do more.”

“Economic headwinds, increased raw material prices and increased competition are likely to remain a challenge to our industry for some time,” he said.

The office job cuts represent around six percent of its employees in Sweden, the company said.

While Thursday’s announcement concerns only Sweden, the company said it “will reduce costs and drive efficiencies across its global operations over the coming months.”

In late April, the carmaker reported a drop in first-quarter profits — despite higher sales — and said it was “evaluating the need for further targeted cost actions.”

It had reported a 10 percent increase in vehicles sold to some 162,900, and a 29 percent increase in revenue to 95.7 billion kronor ($9.3 billion).

But the company’s net profit fell to 3.98 billion kronor from 4.5 billion a year earlier.

The carmaker, which aims to become 100 percent electric by 2030, also said that one in five cars sold in the first quarter had been electric.

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Why North Korean hackers could leave Sweden short of alcohol this weekend

If you're thinking of quitting the booze, now may be a good time, as Sweden may run low on alcohol in just a few days.

Why North Korean hackers could leave Sweden short of alcohol this weekend

The reason? Problems down the distribution chain, as a result of a ransomware attack by a North Korean hacker group on Skanlog, a logistics firm that delivers to Sweden’s state-run alcohol monopoly Systembolaget, reports business site Dagens Industri.

Systembolaget confirmed to The Local that this may have a knock-on effect on supplies.

“This is one of our distributors, they deliver up to 25 percent of the alcohol. But we do have other suppliers as well, we have to scale up the deliveries. So I cannot say exactly what the shortage will look like in the stores,” Systembolaget press officer Sofia Sjöman Waas said.

Not only the weekend is coming up, but also Walpurgis Night on April 30th, a popular party day in university towns.

“It is too early to say what will happen. Small stores around the country have one delivery once a week and this might not affect you at all. Other stores have deliveries every day,” Sjöman Waas told The Local.

It’s unlikely that shelves will run completely dry, but some products – mostly wine, but also beer and liquor – may be out of stock.

“But in general our consumers don’t buy a lot. They come in, they buy a couple of bottles, and they consume it within a couple of days or a week,” said Sjöman Waas.

Article by Emma Löfgren and Gearóid Ó Droighneáin

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