Volvo Trucks Gent eliminates 200 temporary jobs due to “normalization of the European market” | She sang

Volvo Trucks employs 3,200 people in Ghent. This mainly concerns workers who are permanently employed, but the employer also employs some temporary workers to respond to market fluctuations. In this case, 200 temporary employees will lose their job with the truck manufacturer in Ghent.

The Swedish Volvo Group intends to reduce truck production as demand for trucks returns to normal after several record years. The group made the announcement above the factory in Ghent, among other places, on Friday morning when publishing annual figures.

The management of the Ghent plant wants to reduce production capacity by 10 percent. It is not clear exactly how long this period of reduced production capacity will last. It is not yet possible to make predictions about the development of the market and the consequences for employment in Ghent on Friday.

“We'll wait and see what the market does,” says van Schipdaele. “It remains to be seen how long low productivity will last.” Volvo Trucks saw orders fall by 9 percent in the fourth quarter, and even by 24 percent in Europe. This has consequences for the plant in Thove, Sweden, as well as for the Ghent plant, the largest of the group.

Volvo Trucks has also been building electric trucks in Ghent since last year. There are three models: FH, FM and FMX. The first Volvo FH Electric rolled off the production line in July. The vehicle is priced at 350,000 euros and has a range of 300 kilometers with a full payload of 44 tons.

Battery packs for other production sites are also manufactured in Ghent. International Management believes in the future of electric-powered trucks and the group is investing in technology. The Flemish government supports the production with approximately 470 thousand euros. But sales today still represent a small share of production.

In addition to the production line, Volvo Trucks also has a warehouse in our country, bringing the total number of employees to about 4,000 employees.