Sweden to come to rescue of struggling carmakers Saab
and Volvo
STOCKHOLM (AFP) - - Sweden will come to the rescue of its
US-owned carmakers crippled by the financial crisis, Saab and
Volvo, to secure the future of an automobile industry which
accounts for 15 percent of exports, officials say
f course the Swedish government is committed to supporting the
carmakers. We can guarantee that we will have car manufacturing in
Sweden because it is an important part of our economy," Frank
Nilsson, a spokesman for the enterprise and energy ministry, told
AFP.
Volvo Cars' owner, US giant Ford, said Monday it was considering
selling the marque given the challenges facing the US auto sector,
clouding the future for the Swedish brand.
But no matter who ends up as the owner, the government is
committed to supporting the industry, well aware that Volvo and
Saab and their hundreds of suppliers are "big employers" in Sweden
with "lots of know-how," Nilsson said.
"We want to keep that here and to protect it," he said, adding
that Enterprise and Energy Minister Maud Olofsson had developed
"close connections and a close dialogue" with the Swedish
manufacturers and their US owners, General Motors for Saab, and
Ford for Volvo.
The Swedish car industry employs 140,000 people in a country of
just nine million.
It counts some 700 companies, including internationally renowned
truckmakers Volvo Trucks and Scania, as well as airbag and safety
belt manufacturer Autoliv, special steels maker SSAB and the
world's leading manufacturer of ballbearings, SKF.
In recent months, as the financial crisis has widened in Europe
and the United States, the sector has seen numerous savings and
restructuring programmes involving thousands of job cuts.
At the end of July, Autoliv announced 3,000 jobs would go.
Volvo Cars, which was sold to Ford in 1999, has announced it
will slash 6,000 jobs, including 3,900 in Sweden, out of 24,400
employees worldwide.
Ford and GM, as well as the third largest US carmaker Chrysler,
have been hit head-on by a collapse in demand for their
gas-guzzling models and this week will ask US lawmakers for a
bailout of 25 billion dollars in government-backed low-cost
loans.
Ford said the possible sale of loss-making Volvo Cars was part
of its restructuring efforts.
"Given the unprecedented external challenges facing Ford and the
entire industry, it is prudent for Ford to evaluate options for
Volvo as we implement our ONE Ford plan," Ford president and chief
executive Alan Mulally said in a statement.
A poll published at the weekend showed that seven of 10 Swedes
want the state to take over Volvo Cars temporarily.
Volvo group chairman Finn Johnsson recently told Swedish
financial daily Dagens Industri that his company was not interested
in buying back Volvo Car and voiced opposition to calls for the
government to acquire it.
"The state knows nothing about the car industry and Volvo needs
an owner that can increase sales and cooperate with suppliers on
components and development," he said, suggesting French carmaker
Renault.
Volvo Cars has been hit hard by declining sales, as interest for
its big, costly models dwindles.
In the third quarter, the company posted a net loss of 458
million dollars, nearly three times its full-year 2007 loss of 164
million dollars.
Meanwhile, Saab, fully-owned by GM since 2000, has tried to
avoid lay-offs at its Trollhaettan plant in southwestern Sweden,
which employs some 1,200 people, by reducing its two shifts to
one.
"We have held intense negotiations with the Swedish government,"
Saab spokesman Eric Geers told AFP, adding that the centre-right
government planned to increase its subsidies for research and
development.
According to Nilsson, these subsidies will amount to 450 million
kronor (55 million dollars, 43 million euros) annually for
2009-2012, compared to 430 million this year.
The government also has other measures already in place -- since
2007, it has given car buyers a 10,000 kronor rebate if they buy an
environmentally-friendly car, an offer that is scheduled to expire
at the end of 2009.
"It is extremely important for us to get demand going. So
anything that would increase demand like (incentives to) scrap old
cars" would help, Geers said, noting that Sweden "has one of the
largest old car markets in Europe."
Nilsson meanwhile ruled out aid similar to the bank rescue
packages, saying the Swedish government would prefer to see "joint
action in Europe.
"Each country needs to keep in mind that it's important to
follow the rules of competition," he stressed.