Volvo to slash 5% of staff at South Carolina plant – Business News
Volvo Cars mentioned on Wednesday it plans to slash 5% of its workforce at its South Carolina plant due to financial uncertainty fueled by President Trump’s tariffs.
About 125 of the Charleston plant’s 2,500 staff might be impacted, in accordance to a spokesperson.
The automaker, nonetheless, mentioned it remained dedicated to including 4,000 jobs within the state, a aim it set in 2018 when the manufacturing facility first opened.
Volvo Cars mentioned it plans to slash 5% of its workforce at its South Carolina plant. Volvo Cars USA by way of AP
It’s additionally nonetheless trying to enhance output at the Charleston facility sooner or later, the company added.
Volvo Cars didn’t instantly reply to The Post’s request for remark.
In its quarterly earnings report final week, Volvo Cars mentioned it plans to decrease prices by $1.88 billion. This determine doesn’t embody the newly-announced layoffs.
Like most others within the sector, Volvo Cars – which is owned by Geely Holding, a Chinese automotive conglomerate – is going through a vital hit from Trump’s tariffs.
While its largest manufacturing facility is positioned in Sweden, the carmaker additionally has three big services in China.
In early April, Trump slapped a 25% tax on international vehicle imports, and adopted up with the identical charge on auto elements final week – which is anticipated to influence just about all vehicles within the US, since even these made within the nation include elements from different nations.
About 125 of the Charleston plant’s 2,500 staff might be impacted, in accordance to a Volvo Cars spokesperson. Christopher Sadowski
A couple of days earlier than the tax on auto elements took impact, Trump introduced “a little bit of help” for automakers.
The auto tariffs, he mentioned, gained’t stack on high of different duties he has imposed, like these on metal and aluminum, or the hefty charges on Canada and Mexico.
Trump’s 145% tariff on China, nonetheless, will proceed to apply on high of the auto tariffs.
But Volvo Cars mentioned the US stays a key half of its long-term strategy.
Volvo Cars mentioned the US stays a key half of its strategy transferring ahead. Volvo Cars USA by way of AP
While its Charleston manufacturing facility has the capability to produce 150,000 vehicles annually, it presently solely makes the EX90 electric SUV and Polestar’s model 3, with most Volvo vehicles imported from Europe.
In April, the company mentioned it has offered 1,316 EX90s within the US to date this yr.
Volvo Cars has almost 43,000 staff around the globe, together with 29,000 in Europe, about 10,000 in Asia and three,000 within the Americas, in accordance to its 2024 annual report.
With Post wires
