Truckmaker Scania signals lay-offs, has 5,000 more staff than needed

[STOCKHOLM]Swedish truckmaker Scania, owned by Germany's Traton, is planning major job cuts and estimates it has 5,000 more staff globally than it needs as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Traton, in which Volkswagen has a 89.7 per cent stake, said last month its first-quarter operating profit had fallen by two thirds, as the coronavirus pandemic brought large parts of the automotive industry to a near standstill.

Scania Chief Executive Henrik Henriksson said on Monday that up to 1,000 white-collar positions at its headquarters in Sodertalje would be reviewed by the Swedish truckmaker, which employs around 51,000 people globally.

"Our assessment is that it will take long before market demand reaches pre-crisis levels and we therefore need to adapt the organisation to the new situation," Mr Henriksson said.

"These will be company-wide measures and formal notices of redundancies are not excluded," he added in a statement.

Scania said it will also reassess parts of its industrial and commercial operations, adding it had too many staff in global sales and services and that the truckmaker's research & development had also been hit by the fall in activity.

"The executive management is working together with the union representatives on different cost reduction measures, where reducing the number of consultants is one," Scania said. 

REUTERS