Volvo Cars to shed 1,000 jobs: report

Stockholm, Feb 20 (AFP) Volvo Cars, which is owned by Chinese auto maker Geely, is to cut up to 1,000 jobs by the end of the year, the company's chief executive told Sweden's public broadcaster today. "You have to adjust to reality," Haakan Samuelsson said in an interview to SVT. A spokesman for the company, Per-Aake Froeberg, told Swedish radio that "by the end of the year, there will be 1,000 fewer of us." The company axed 1,100 positions last year, most of whom were working in its assembly plants. By contrast, most of those affected by today's announcement would be white collar workers, SVT said. Volvo Cars said in September it employed 22,400 people. The troubled car maker will soon launch a USD 239 million cost cutting drive, after sales dipped by 18 per cent in January, the Swedish broadcaster wrote on its website. The Gothenburg-based company sold 422,000 cars in 2012, which was six per cent fewer than the year before. The European market was especially tough, dipping by 10 per cent. Volvo Cars was acquired in 2010 by the Chinese maker Geely, but the Swedish brand has since seen its market share decline and profits dwindle. Geely exports vehicles to more than 40 developing countries in eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. (AFP) SAI 02202056 NNNN