Swedish battery factory Novo Energy, the joint venture set up by Northvolt and Volvo Cars, has announced it is laying off 50% of its employees following an evaluation of its operations in the wake of Northvolt’s bankruptcy.
Novo Energy was established as a joint venture in 2022 in Gothenburg to further develop battery expertise within both companies and to develop battery cells and vehicle integration technologies, specifically for use in Volvo cars. Once fully built, it was meant to supply around half a million cars with batteries annually and employ 3,000 people.
Northvolt’s bankruptcy put a stop to those plans.
With Northvolt suffering substantial financial difficulties prior to filing for bankruptcy, Volvo Cars agreed to take over Novo Energy at the end of January this year.
Now, in a bid to reduce costs, Novo Energy has announced that it is re-sizing its operations and making half of its workforce — around 150 employees — redundant. The news comes a month after Northvolt made 2,800 people redundant.
“Despite our best efforts to secure our business, and an extensive ongoing search for a suitable new technology partner, the current economic challenges and market conditions have made it impossible to maintain our operations at the current scale,” Adrian Clarke, CEO of Novo Energy, said in a statement.
According to Christan Jebsen, head of communications at the company, it has been difficult to find a new technology partner to replace Northvolt. However, he believes these cuts should be enough to continue operations until a new technology partner is in place.
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