'To early to say' if Sweden will give foreign Northvolt staff special help
At a press conference held after the company was declared bankrupt on Wednesday, Persson was asked whether engineers from countries outside the EU would be exempted from a rule requiring them to get a new job within three months of being made redundant or lose their right to be resident in Sweden.
The government, he said, did not intend to put into place any special measures, but would instead rely on the country's well-established system for major bankruptcies and lay-offs.
"This is precisely the same support system that we always kick into action when there is this kind of crisis," he said. "This is precisely the same model that has served Sweden so well."
It was, he said, "a little too early to answer" questions over "how many are from other countries and how many are born in Sweden and so on", saying this was something that needed to be "analysed calmly" together with the municipality and the company.
He expressed his sympathy with all of those affected by the decision to put Northvolt into bankruptcy.
"I have of course a great understanding for the turbulence, the worry, and that you might feel a bit dazed on a day like this," he said. "This is a tough decision and this is something I mean both sincerely and with consideration, Swedish society is built to handle this sort of crisis."
Workers made redundant will first be supported by a salary guarantee, after which they will be eligible for A-kassa unemployment benefits and support to retrain to make themselves more employable.
He emphasised, however, that Sweden has a tradition of not intervening to prop up failing companies.
"Our starting principle is that we don't, perhaps unlike other countries, generally support individual companies. We do not rescue specific jobs but we support people in finding new ones and we support people in a tough time," he said.
At the same press conference, Sweden's business minister Ebba Busch said that she still hoped that a way could be found to keep Northvolt's battery factories in Skellefteå and Västerås operating.
"I hope of course that the operation will now be able to find a new long-run owner, and that is something the state is of course ready to support," she said.
She expressed scepticism, however, about the possibility of a Chinese buyer stepping in, arguing that a key part of Northvolt's strategic rationale had been that it was a European-owned battery producer.
"It's not the case that there's been a lack of players in the battery market, it's more that we've had a surplus of battery manufacturers in Europe, of whom very few have been European," she said. "That [being a European company] has been their big competitive advantage. That's a choice the company itself can make if it doesn't want to have that unique selling point."
There was a bigger picture, she continued, above and beyond the individual case of Northvolt, which was the anti-competitive behaviour from China and the US, and the need to build up European independence in strategic industries like batteries.
"The playing field is not fair for battery manufacturers in the European market and it probably never has been," she said. "I think Europe has been far too naive in many of the critical parts of the green transition in the face of competition from countries who act in ways that would never be acceptable within the EU's own territory, but which right now is what is knocking out otherwise viable European companies."
In the same way that Europe is now ramping up its military defence, she said, it needed to build up independent production in the key technologies needed for the green and digital transitions.
"If we're going to rearm Europe and Sweden to be strong in a real way we can't just do it militarily," she said. "We also need to look at those parts of our business sector which allow us to safeguard our independence and which also safeguard the growth which means that we can continue to finance both our defence and our welfare going forward."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local Sweden
2 days ago
- Local Sweden
Fit in or stick out? How Sweden changes you
This week: 25 year of the bridge between Sweden and Denmark, and how moving to Sweden changes you. For Membership+ subscribers: Swiss risk losing right to permanent residency, and study shows which nationalities contribute most to the economy. Advertisement In this week's episode we talk about the bridge between Denmark and Sweden and how it means a lot more to one of our panelists than the sore feet she got after running across it. We also discuss what foreigners do to fit in in Sweden and why some people push back against assimilation. For Membership+ subscribers we examine how Sweden appears to have accidentally proposed blocking Swiss people from permanent residency. Last, but certainly not least, we dig into an eye-opening report breaking down immigrants' contribution to Swedish society by nationality. Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. Advertisement Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode: Sweden and Denmark Reader insights Immigration You can listen to the free episode here: Or follow Sweden in Focus wherever you listen to podcasts. Advertisement Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcasts Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday. Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+ Read more about Membership+ in our help centre. Already have Membership+ but not receiving all the episodes? Go to the podcast tab on your account page to activate your subscription. Advertisement
Local Sweden
3 days ago
- Local Sweden
All Swedish parties back 300 billion kronor boost to defence spending
Sweden's government said on Thursday it had gained the support of all parties in parliament for a massive boost in defence spending, as the United States pressures Europe to take more responsibility for security. Advertisement The 300 billion kronor boost over the next decade, first announced in March and due to be finalised in forthcoming budget decisions, will be the nation's biggest rearmament push since the Cold War. The Nordic country dropped two centuries of military non-alignment and applied for Nato membership after Russia's full invasion of Ukraine in 2022, becoming the alliance's 32nd member in March last year. US President Donald Trump has demanded Nato allies commit to spending five percent of GDP on defence, and members will try to reach a deal at a meeting next week. The Swedish investment ‒ which will bring defence spending to 3.5 percent of GDP by 2030, up from the current 2.4 percent ‒ will be financed through loans, Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson told a press conference. Flanked by government colleagues and representatives of other parties, she praised everyone for standing "united" on a plan that is expected to raise Sweden's debt-to-GDP level by three percentage points. Defence Minister Pål Jonson told the same press conference the "broad consensus" was "virtually unique" in the world. Advertisement The Nordic country drastically slashed defence spending after the Cold War ended but reversed course following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. "To put it bluntly, (the investment) is also about making sure that our children and grandchildren don't have to learn to speak Russian," Svantesson said. Nato chief Mark Rutte is urging members to commit to 3.5 percent on direct military spending by 2032, and an additional 1.5 percent on broader security-related expenditure.
Local Sweden
3 days ago
- Local Sweden
Sweden's Liberals propose Simona Mohamsson as party leader
The nomination committee for Sweden's Liberal Party has proposed 30-year-old party secretary Simona Mohamsson as the next party leader. Advertisement Lars Persson Skandevall, the chair of the party's nomination committee, announced Mohamsson's name at a press conference in the Swedish parliament on Thursday morning. She is expected to be formally voted into place at an extraordinary meeting of the party's regional leaders held on June 24th. "My goal is for the Liberals is to make it a party in contact with issues on the ground," Mohamsson said after the announcement. "For me this about teamwork." Mohamsson has had a meteoric career within the Liberal Party, only entering national politics as recently as April, when she took over as party secretary. Before that she has been active in youth and local politics, serving as vice chair of the party's LUF youth wing and the city councillor in charge of social services in Hisingen, a suburb of Gothenburg. Mohamsson's appointment came as many of the favourites to take the position, chief among them Sweden's current environment minister Romina Pourmokhtari and schools minister Lotta Edholm, both said they were not interested in the role. When making the announcement, Persson Skandevall said that Mohamsson was "tailor-made for the role of party leader". "Simona is fearless, clear and direct and firmly rooted in the liberal movement. We are totally convinced that she is the right person," he said. Advertisement Mohamsson has in the past been critical of the party's decision to be part of a government coalition dependent on the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats, but has recently said she has changed her mind on the issue after seeing how it has worked in practice. Mohamsson's father is an Israeli Arab born in Haifa and her mother is from a mountain village in Lebanon, close to the Israeli border. She was born in Hamburg and then moved to Överlida in the countryside south of Gothenburg when she was seven years old. The family changed their name from Mohammed to the more Swedish-sounding Mohamsson shortly after arrival in Sweden.
