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Nya jobb i batterifabrik välkomnas av Unionen
Västerås och Skellefteå drog vinstlotterna när Northvolt beslutade sig för var de ska lägga sin batteritillverkning. Medan huvudfabriken hamnar i Skellefteå, vilket beräknas ge mellan 2 000 och 2 500 jobb, förläggs utvecklingen till Västerås.
Skellefteå kan räkna med mellan 2 000 och 2 500 direkta jobb om planerna fullföljs. För Västerås räkning uppges satsningen leda till 300-400 jobb, och då främst på ingenjörssidan.
Lars Remsén, Unionens regionchef i Mälardalen, ser det som ”en logisk kompromiss”.
– Helst hade vi ju sett att fabriken hamnat i Västerås. Först blev jag lite besviken, men kände samtidigt att vi inte blev helt lottlösa. Det är ju trots allt tjänstemännen vi organiserar så det känns som en hygglig kompensation.
Vad betyder satsningen för Västerås?
– Den befäster Västerås ställning som Sveriges elektronikhuvudstad. Den sätter också staden på Europakartan när det gäller utveckling av energiomställning.
– Västerås geografiska läge med cirka tre miljoner invånare inom en radie på tio mil och med goda pendlingsmöjligheter till Stockholm och Örebro är faktorer som kan leda till fler större etableringar i framtiden och locka internationell kompetens.
Hur lätt blir det att hitta kompetent personal för Northvolt?
– Även om Mälardalens högskola utbildar flest elingenjörer i landet, och många ingenjörer jobbar i Västerås med omnejd, tror jag att den kompetens Northvolt inledningsvis behöver främst finns i Asien och USA.
Hittills uppges företaget ha fått in 215 miljoner kronor, planen var att man redan i september skulle ha fått ihop 100 miljoner euro, vilket motsvarar 960 miljoner kronor. Tror du att projektet blir av – med tanke på att hur mycket kapital som krävs?
– Det hoppas jag verkligen. Jag tror att projektet är tillräckligt spännande för att locka fler tunga investerare. Jag välkomnar Northvolts etablering i Sverige och Västerås och hoppas samtidigt på att företaget väljer att gå med i en arbetsgivarorganisation för att vara en del i den svenska modellen med schysta villkor och kollektivavtal.
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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.
