Volvo Trucks North America will reportedly lay off some 900 workers at its Dublin, VA, plant within the next three weeks.
Last month the company announced that revised
production schedules for the first and second quarter would mean a temporary reduction of some 400 jobs. However recent reports set the number at 900 by mid February, cutting the Dublin workforce to approximately 2,300.
According to Starks News Service, Volvo will suspend production of its VN Class 8
models for one week starting Friday. It will then reduce total daily production from 137 to 105 units including 80 VN models (down from 112) and 25 specialty vehicles used primarily in construction fleets.
The cutbacks will not affect Volvo Truck’s on-going expansion, set for completion in
August.
In earlier announcements, president and CEO Marc Gustafson called the reduction
regrettable but necessary in a slowing market, noting that industry forecasts project North American sales in 2000 to be in line with volume seen from 1996 through 1998.
Volvo Truck sales in North America last year were just over 34,300 units,up 17% from 1998 and the only significant gain for Volvo worldwide. According to Starks, the Swedish based company sold a total of 85,087 commercial trucks in 1999, up about 2% from 1998. European sales were relatively flat while South American sales dropped 35% and sales in Asia were down 28%.