Saab has said it will lay off 750 of its 4,100 Swedish employees as part of its strategy to survive as an independent carmaker.
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The firm has also confirmed that a group of Swedish investors are interested in buying Saab.
I cannot disclose who they are, but I can confirm that there is a group of investors in Sweden which has shown interest,” Saab spokesman Eric Geers told Reuters, adding Saab was being courted by 6-8 ‘very large’ companies in total.
Reports in Sweden have suggested that the Swedish investors are partly motivated by fears that a Chinese owner might not be good for Saab in the long run. In particular, a fear is that a Chinese owner would look to transfer jobs and technology to China.
GM has said it will shed loss-making Saab at the latest by 2010 and the firm was granted creditor protection in February while it restructures and looks for a new owner.
A Saab spokeswoman told Reuters that the job cuts would affect 650 blue-collar workers and 100 white-collar employees. “These notices are a direct consequence of the recession and the global economic downturn,” she said.
