Volvo announced plans today to cut 4,000 positions, in addition to the 2,000 cuts already planned. CEO Stephen Odell said the automotive market had declined much further than they had expected ? auto sales in the US dropped by 27% last month. Volvo is only one of many European companies announcing cuts. Daimler, Renault, and the European General Motors branch are all scaling back production and laying off employees. Volvo?s cuts affect regular employees and consultants. An additional 900 workers in England will be switched to a four day work week, due to declining demand. Although Ford had expected Volvo earnings to improve in the second half of the year, they now predict that they will, in fact, be worse. German luxury car maker BMW also reported falling sales, though the Rolls-Royce was up 43%.
See "Volvo triples planned job cuts in Europe to 6,000", International Herald Tribune, October 7, 2008