Saab crisis a "national concern"

The fate of Saab’s plant in Trollhättan, which faces possible shutdown, is a matter of national concern, said Peter Augustsson, chairman and president of Saab Automobile, this week.

• Saab CEO 'spied upon' during Swiss Gripen talks (25 May 12)
• Swedish union plea to Obama: 'help save Saab' (14 May 12)
• 'Chinese Saabs' soon to hit showrooms: report (8 May 12)

"I don’t share the view that this is a fight between Trollhättan and Rüsselsheim or between Sweden and Germany. In reality this issue is much bigger: it is essentially an issue on where industrial production must be driven - in Western Europe or in Asia," said Augustsson.

"Sweden is the country in the world that is most dependent on its automobile industry. We rely more on the industry than the USA, Germany or Japan," he continued, adding that this is why the crisis at the company is a matter of national concern.

"A lot of our investments in production, training and infrastructure have been on the automobile industry, so much so that it would be devastating if it can’t even be profitable in the long term."

Total silence on industrial espionage case

Neither Ericsson nor the Ministry for Foreign Affairs yesterday wanted to comment on the industrial espionage investigation being kept under wraps by prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand, according to SvD. On Monday the Stockholm City Court ordered the detention of a Hungarian man suspected of industrial espionage.

The man, who is not a resident of Sweden, is alleged to have collected company secrets and sold them on during the period October 2002 until July this year.

This developed as the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) warns Swedish companies against an increased risk of corporate spying, reports DI.

Migrant labour exploited at steelworks

A new wage scandal with foreign workers in Sweden performing jobs under poor conditions has been exposed by the Metal Workers Union (Metall) in Norrbotten. A total of 24 Slovenian workers dismantling Inexa Profilers plant at the steelworks in Luleå haven’t received a single öre since August 16. Metall representatives in the area are now calling for a blockade at the plant until the wages are paid.

Real estate broker - the new dream job?

Applications for licenses and registration in the real estate agency business have risen by nearly 50 per cent this year, according to figures obtained by DN. This is worrying the real estate brokers committee, which fears it won’t have enough time to investigate the industry.

Sources: Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Dagens Industri

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