350 jobs lost as Ericsson shuts Swedish factory
Swedish telecom giant Ericsson has buckled under the pressure of European competition and will turn off the switch on a cable production plant in Sweden, leaving 350 employees without jobs.
The company's management said on Tuesday that there was a surplus of cables being produced on the European market.
"From a global perspective, Ericsson is a small-scale producer in this field. We've struggled with profitability for a long time," human resources head Tomas Qvist told the TT news agency.
The closure affects all 318 employees in Hudiksvall in eastern Sweden, with another 36 people at Ericsson offices in Stockholm also being laid off.
Ericsson has tried in recent years to sell off its cable production. A plant in Falun in central Sweden was handed over to the Danish cable makers NKT Cables a few weeks ago, saving about 300 jobs. The employees in Hudiksvall, on the northern east coast, fared less well. The town has had cable production since 1965.
The closure is the latest of large-scale closures to hit Hudiksvall municipality in the past year.
"The structural changes in the production industry which has affected Hudiksvall is tough," said municipal head Caroline Schmidh.
TT/The Local/at
Comments
See Also
The company's management said on Tuesday that there was a surplus of cables being produced on the European market.
"From a global perspective, Ericsson is a small-scale producer in this field. We've struggled with profitability for a long time," human resources head Tomas Qvist told the TT news agency.
The closure affects all 318 employees in Hudiksvall in eastern Sweden, with another 36 people at Ericsson offices in Stockholm also being laid off.
Ericsson has tried in recent years to sell off its cable production. A plant in Falun in central Sweden was handed over to the Danish cable makers NKT Cables a few weeks ago, saving about 300 jobs. The employees in Hudiksvall, on the northern east coast, fared less well. The town has had cable production since 1965.
The closure is the latest of large-scale closures to hit Hudiksvall municipality in the past year.
"The structural changes in the production industry which has affected Hudiksvall is tough," said municipal head Caroline Schmidh.
TT/The Local/at
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.