Scania Buses & Coaches in Katrineholm notifies 120 of temporary layoffs

Scania Buses & Coaches in Katrineholm notifies 120 of temporary layoffs Employee co-determination negotiations are starting today at Scania's Katrineholm factory on a month-long layoff of 120 employees early next year. This measure was necessitated by a temporary drop in incoming orders for fully-built buses. Orders for chassis, on the other hand, have increased. "The background to this downturn can be seen in the current major structural changes among our customers, characterised by acquisitions and mergers," explains Håkan Ericsson, Senior Vice President Scania Buses & Coaches. "The result is that expected orders for fully-built buses have been postponed for the moment." This affects bus-building in Katrineholm, which is now temporarily over- staffed by 120 workshop employees in the body workshop. Employee co- determination negotiations on the proposed layoffs started today. Staff who are being served notice will be laid off for one month starting on 10 January 2000. "We believe that one month is sufficient to contain the downturn," says Håkan Ericsson. "In the longer-term perspective, we can discern increased demand for our products; in fact, increased orders are already flowing in today for chassis without bodies. However, this increase is not sufficient to fully compensate for the dip in the demand for fully-built buses, since that operation is far more labour-intensive," concludes Håkan Ericsson. For further information, please contact Gunnar Boman on telephone +46 150- 58599 or mobile phone +46 70-550 8606. Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 23,500 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. In 1998, turnover totalled SEK 45,300 million and income after financial items SEK 3,200 million. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and approximately 96 percent of total production is sold outside Sweden. Bus manufacture takes place in Sweden, Brazil, Denmark and Poland. Scania press releases are available on the Internet, www.scania.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/02/19991202BIT00460/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/02/19991202BIT00460/bit0002.pdf