Reinfeldt wants Volvo jobs to stay in Sweden

Sweden's government welcomed US carmaker Ford's decision to name Geely Automobile of China its "preferred bidder" for Volvo Cars, but insisted it wanted Volvo jobs to stay in Sweden.

Related news:
China's Geely is 'preferred bidder' in Volvo sale

"Our hope, and that of all of us who feel strongly about Volvo, is that (Geely) will be a strong and long-term owner and that it will make it possible to keep a lot of production here in Sweden," Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in comments reported by news agency TT.

Volvo Cars counts some 22,000 employees worldwide, around 16,000 of whom work in Sweden.

Swedish Enterprise and Energy Minister Maud Olofsson said Wednesday's news was "good, because the uncertainty has not been good for Volvo."

"And we have told Geely and everyone else that we have been in talks with that we want production to stay in Sweden," she added.

Ford, which has owned Volvo Cars since 1999, put the unit on the block in December and speculation about possible buyers has flourished since then.

Ford stressed Wednesday that no final decision had been taken with Geely yet, and that it was continuing discussions. No sale price has been disclosed.

However, Ford said it did not intend to retain a shareholding capacity in Volvo once a sale is made.

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Last Updated (Wednesday, 28 October 2009 19:18)

 
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