Swedish electric vehicle battery maker Northvolt is shedding around 1,600 jobs, or one-fifth of its workforce, under what it has dubbed a “revised scope of operations in Sweden”.
The job cuts will be spread across operations in Skellefteå, Västerås and Stockholm.
In announcing the widespread redundancies, Northvolt said it is retraining its focus on the ramp-up of the first 16 GWh phase of the Northvolt Ett gigafactory in Skellefteå, as it indicated earlier in the month.
Electric vehicle demand in Europe has shown signs of cooling recently, with the latest data showing a 4% drop in EV sales year to date.
Both hybrids (PHEVs) and battery-powered (BEVs) are down year-on-year, by 3% and 5%, respectively, according to Rho Motion, with demand particularly weak in Germany.
Earlier this month, Swedish auto manufacturer Volvo said it had abandoned its plan to sell only fully electric vehicles by 2030 due to a tapering off of global demand.
Announcing the layoffs today, Northvolt’s co-founder and chief executive Peter Carlsson stated: “While overall momentum for electrification remains strong, we need to make sure that we take the right actions at the right time in response to headwinds in the automotive market, and wider industrial climate.
“We now need to focus all energy and investments into our core business.
“Success in the ramp-up of production at Northvolt Ett is critical for delivering to our customers and enabling sustainable business operations. Recent production records at Northvolt Ett show that we are on the right path, but the decisions we’re taking today, however tough, are required for Northvolt’s future.”
Carlsson called the decision to axe 20% of the workforce “challenging and painful”.