Northvolt, the Swedish battery manufacturer, has announced significant layoffs, impacting approximately 1,600 employees across its operations in Sweden. This includes 1,000 positions at the main plant in Skellefteå, 400 in Västerås, and 200 in Stockholm, representing nearly a quarter of the company’s Swedish workforce.
Despite strong overall momentum in electrification, Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson emphasized the necessity of focusing resources on the core business to navigate challenges in the automotive market. “All energy and investments must now be focused on the core business: a successful ramp-up of large-scale production of battery cells at the Northvolt Ett factory in Skellefteå is crucial for supplying customers and for sustainable business operations,” he stated.
The Northvolt Ett facility is notable as the first and only gigafactory for battery cells owned by a European company that has begun production, which has tripled since the start of the year. However, Carlsson acknowledged that the company may have been overly ambitious in its expansion plans, particularly following BMW’s recent withdrawal of a €2 billion order for battery cells.
Importantly, the planned Northvolt plant in Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, remains unaffected by these layoffs. The construction of this facility, which aims to produce up to one million battery cells per year for electric cars, was officially launched in March 2024. A company spokesperson confirmed that the developments in Heide would continue as planned.
