Volvo Doubles Planned Job Cuts as 4Q Earnings Fall

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Transport Topics / February 6, 2014

Swedish truck-maker Volvo AB said it is more than doubling planned job cuts to 4,400 as its fourth-quarter operating income dropped 17% to 996 million kronor (US$180.1 million).

Sales in the fourth quarter rose 8% to 76.6 billion kronor (US$13.9 billion), and revenue increased 11% in its truck division.

Truck deliveries increased 15% in the fourth quarter to 61,613.

In announcing the earnings, Volvo also said it would increase planned “white-collar” job cuts to about 4,400 jobs, from a previously announced 2,000 amounting to about 4.6% of its workforce. The company said it is part of a plan to save about 4 billion kroner in 2015.

Full-year operating income dropped to 7.1 billion kroner (US$1.28 billion) from 18 billion kroner (US$3.26 billion) the year prior. Revenue declined to 273 billion kroner (US$49.4 billion) from 299 billion kroner (US$54 billion) in 2012.

“Although we still have a couple of quarters ahead of us before we are completely through the group’s largest product renewal ever, this year will be characterized by efficiency improvements, including a reduction in activities and costs, as well as personnel reductions. This will play an important part in the work to achieve the group’s strategic and financial targets,” Volvo CEO Olof Persson said in a statement.

The company said the job cuts would happen in several divisions including group trucks operations, group trucks technology and group trucks sales and marketing, as well as human resources.

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=34102&t=Volvo-Doubles-Planned-Job-Cuts-as-4Q-Earnings-Fall