Executives from Geely, the prospective new owner for Volvo Cars, have met with representatives from the firm’s labour unions.
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The Geely delegation is in Sweden this week for discussions with Volvo management and the Swedish government.
Reports suggest that the Geely delegation were tight lipped on financing for the bid to take Volvo Cars off Ford’s hands.
However, Bloomberg reported that Geely Chairman Li Shufu gave assurances that Volvo’s main plants in Sweden and Belgium will stay open.
Glenn Magnusson of the Ledarna union said that the question of financial backing was a sensitive one for the Chinese, who would only say that Geely Holding is the main investor.
Li also said that there is no plan to meld the Volvo and Geely brands and that the Swedish company’s base will remain in Gothenburg, Magnusson added. He also said that Geely wanted volume growth for Volvo.
Bloomberg reported that Magnus Sundemo, head of Volvo’s engineering union and also at the talks, said yesterday that knowing who is backing Geely is ‘crucial in order to understand if they’re long- term players and have the financial muscle to handle this’.
