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Fack och regering kritiserar Pfizers agerande
Pfizers bud på Astra Zeneca väcker farhågor om nya nedskärningar inom läkemedelsindustrin. Från både regering och fack kommer nu kritik mot Pfizers agerande.
Den svenska regeringen har valt att stötta Astra Zenecas ledning som hittils valt att avvisa Pfizers bud. I en debattartikel i Wall Street Journal skriver Anders Borg tillsammans med näringsminister Annie Lööf och utbildningsminister Jan Björklund en debattartikel om sin oro för vad ett uppköp av Astra Zeneca skulle leda till.
Att risken för att jobb försvinner är uppenbar. Det senaste decenniet har antalet forskningsanställda inom läkemedelsindustrin i Sverige nästan halverats, skriver TT.
Jobben är också anledning till att Unionens regionstyrelser i Göteborg, Skaraborg/ Väst och Sjuhall formulerat ett öppet brev där de konstaterar att om Astra Zeneca försvinner från Sverige så försvinner även jobb hos underleverantörer och inom forskning och utveckling på högskolor av olika slag. Det är alltså inte ”bara” 6 000 arbetstillfällen som hotas.
- Avsikten med brevet är att visa på Astra Zenecas betydelse för hela regionen och arbetstillfällena här, säger Pierre Svensson, Unionens regionchef i Göteborg.
På måndag ska Unionens andre vice ordförande Martin Linder träffa både Astra Zenecas svenska ledning och fackklubben i Mölndal för att diskutera problemet.
- I dagsläget ser vi med stor skepsis på det bud som Pfizer lagt och hur de kommunicerar kring den svenska verksamheten. Vi ser med oro på vilka konsekvenser det kan få både för bolaget och regionerna och också hela branschen och näringslivet som helhet, säger Martin Linder, enligt vilken Unionen vill prata med alla som är inblandade och har möjlighet att påverka.
- Vi har inte haft kontakt med Pfizer än, men så vitt jag vet så jobbar vi för att få kontakt.
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No guaranteed wages in Northvolt's US reconstruction
Northvolt's financial troubles continue. Now, the battery manufacturer's hopes rest on a reconstruction in the USA. However, the process means that the state guaranteed wages – lönegaranti – will not apply to Union members.
The clock is ticking for the struggling battery manufacturer Northvolt. During the autumn, debts have piled up with the Swedish Enforcement Authority, and recently several of the company's major shareholders withdrew from negotiations for new financing. Since its inception in 2015, Northvolt has raised SEK 110 billion, but now the money is almost gone. According to CEO Peter Carlsson, they need to raise just over SEK 10 billion in the coming year, but so far the search for new financing has been fruitless.
Maintaining control with Chapter 11
Therefore, Northvolt has now taken the next step to save the company. The management has applied for a so-called Chapter 11 procedure, a type of reconstruction process in the USA that was recently used by the airline SAS. One possible explanation for the battery manufacturer turning to an American court is that it is considered doubtful that Northvolt would be granted a Swedish reconstruction, as it requires the company to be fundamentally viable. Another advantage of Chapter 11 is that the management is likely to retain control over the company.
No guaranteed wages for employees
However, there is a downside – for the employees. In an American process, Northvolt's employees will not be able to benefit from the Swedish state guaranteed wages - lönegaranti - according to several legal experts contacted by Kollega.
– The Swedish state does not pay any guaranteed wages if the company has not initiated a reconstruction or bankruptcy in Sweden. If Northvolt only initiates a Chapter 11 procedure in the USA, all the company's obligations to employees in Sweden to pay wages and other compensation according to the employment contract remain, says Hans Andersson, chairman of the Swedish Association of Restructuring and Bankruptcy Administrators.
If Union members at Northvolt do not receive their wages, the union can, however, request the company to be declared bankrupt in a Swedish court.
– If Northvolt does not pay wages on time, the employee or the union can collect the wages through the Enforcement Authority and ultimately request that the company be declared bankrupt if the wages are not settled, explains Hans Andersson.
Unionen: "Will collect unpaid wages"
Filip Vujcic, a union lawyer at Unionen, also assesses that members cannot benefit from the state guaranteed wages when a corporate reconstruction is initiated in the USA.
– This means that Unionen, in the event of future unpaid wages, needs to safeguard its members' rights through wage collection. According to Swedish bankruptcy rules, a corporate reconstruction in the USA does not prevent a member's bankruptcy application from being examined in a Swedish court, he says.
Will Unionen request Northvolt to be declared bankrupt if members do not receive their wages?
– Unionen does not comment on that question at this time.
*In wage collection, Unionen usually sends a demand letter to the employer, who has seven days to pay the wages. If the wages are still not paid, the employer receives a payment order via service. If that does not help either, Unionen sends a bankruptcy application to the district court.
This text has been translated with the help of AI.
CHAPTER 11
- American reconstruction process aimed at giving a company a chance to continue with all or parts of its operations. Normally, no administrator is appointed, and the debtor continues to run the business themselves.
- The company must present a plan that must be approved by the court. The plan aims to determine which debts the debtor should pay and which debts should be written off. The plan also provides the opportunity to terminate unfavorable contracts and reorganize the business so that it can continue to operate profitably.
- One advantage of turning to a court in the USA instead of using the Swedish reconstruction process is that a Chapter 11 has an impact in several countries. If a group has companies in different countries, they are all drawn under the same process instead of carrying it out in each country and risking different outcomes.
