The Swedish government will offer assistance to the financially troubled American-owned car manufacturers Saab and Volvo to protect the future of the automotive industry, which accounts for 15 percent of the country’s exports, officials announced.
"Of course, the Swedish government is determined to help car manufacturers. We can guarantee that production in Sweden will continue, as it is an important component of our economy," said Frank Nilsson, spokesperson for the Ministry of Enterprise and Energy. The owner of Volvo Cars, the American automotive giant Ford, announced on Monday that it plans to sell that part of the business, pressured by the challenges facing the American automotive sector, thus raising questions about the future of the Swedish brand. However, according to Nilsson, the government is determined to support that company, regardless of who will be its owner, fully aware that Volvo and Saab and hundreds of their suppliers are major employers in Sweden, holding a significant share of technology.
"We want to keep and protect that," he further stated, emphasizing that the Minister of Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson has developed close ties and a close dialogue with Swedish manufacturers and their American owners, Saab’s General Motors and Volvo’s Ford. The Swedish automotive industry employs 140,000 people in a country with only nine million inhabitants. It comprises a total of about 700 companies, including internationally renowned truck manufacturers Volvo Trucks and Scania, as well as manufacturers of airbags and seat belts Autoliv, special steel producers SSAB, and the world’s leading manufacturer of ball bearings SKF. In recent months, as the financial crisis has spread in Europe and the U.S., this sector has been hit by a series of cost-cutting and restructuring programs, including layoffs of thousands of workers. (H)
