There’s a number of news stories coming out of Sweden that I’ve missed in the last 24 hours.
Here are the summaries:
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Trollhattan’s mayor (I assume that’s the translation) is hoping the situation resolves itself soon. The recent announcement of layoffs there is putting a lot of stress on the locals. He’s calling for the government to provide the loan guarantees.
Over half of Saab’s workforce lives in his area. A third or so live in neighboring Vanersborg.
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He’s not the only one calling for the government to do more. Opposition leader Mona Sahlin was back in Trollhattan recently and stopped in to say Hi.
She once again called for the government to provide loan guarantees, adding a call for the old-vehicle-scrapping incentive to be added as well.
She’s a staunch supporter of Saab and believer in their business plan – “If Saab is lost, it costs taxpayers a lot more than to give Saab a chance. “
That’s all well and good for us, but she’s not winning many fans. Prime Minister Reinfeldt is well ahead in the polls.
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Perhaps the biggest news in the last day or so is that Saab are cutting production down to just two days per week at the moment.
This is in response to lower demand. And whilst they’re working less days, they’re also producing fewer cars per day – down from around 500 to 100 per day.
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Reconstruction work continues, however, and Saab’s court-approved administrator says that they have adequate funding to carry through to July, by which time he expects the process to be completed.
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Some good news:
Saab received some EU funding for staff training.
During the two years, 112 engineers from the Saab and GM Powertrain will be trained in the Unigraphic computer aided design program at University West. 135 employees who work with production maintenance are to be trained in electronics, thermodynamics.
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Original articales at:
Auto Motor and Sport
TTELA
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