Volvo’s 15% Workforce Cuts Have Started, With US Workers Getting The Axe

Volvo is the latest automaker to be forced to make big cuts to help keep its finances in order. The Swedish brand and builder of models like the XC90 crossover has reportedly cut 15% of its commercial workforce in the US. The cuts come amid layoffs at Volvo Cars around the world. They’re part of what the company called its “cost and cash action plan”, which is an attempt to help stop the losses that come with a nearly double-digit percentage drop in sales across the world in the first half of 2025.

Volvo Is Starting A Big Restructuring

The automaker has cut roughly 60 jobs from its US operations, Automotive News reports. Most were at its headquarters, located in New Jersey. A statement from a Volvo spokesperson noted that:

The first news of cuts came at the end of May. Volvo said that it was launching a SEK 18 billion ($1.9 billion) action plan to make the company “leaner” and more efficient. With that announcement, it said that it would be cutting approximately 3,000 positions at its operations around the world. Volvo Cars said that this would represent about 15 percent of its total office-based workforce.

It planned to cut 1,200 positions in Sweden, and to reduce 1,000 positions filled by consultants. The rest of the cuts would be in other markets, including this latest US announcement. Earlier this week, it was reported that Volvo had begun cutting staff at its Shanghai office, as well. Volvo recently re-hired former CEO Håkan Samuelsson to try and help it get its mojo back.

Related

Yet Another Volvo Faces An Early Death

The writing is on the wall, but we didn’t expect it to be this early.

In the US, Volvo reported sales of 31,395 vehicles in the second quarter of 2025, up 4.4% over the same time last year – though sales in June dropped by 7%. Globally, the brand struggled. Sales in Europe were down 14% to 31,457 vehicles in June, while sales in China were down 3%. In the first half of the year, Volvo Cars sales globally hit 353,780, a drop of 9% from the first half of 2024.

Automaker Reported Record High Financials And Sales Last Year

It is strange to see Volvo, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate Geely, having money troubles, though. Last year, the company reported its highest operating profit ever at SEK 27 billion ($2.8b), with all-time high revenues and a global sales record with 763,389 vehicles delivered. In its Q1 2025 report, it indicated falling revenues and operating income, with the latter dropping from SEK 4.7 to 1.9 billion ($493m to $200m). The brand blamed “current turbulence in the broader world economy” for the drop, as well as a deliberate cut in inventory last year.

Related

Volvo’s 2026 Prices Are Going To Be Hard To Swallow

If you’re in the market for a Volvo, you might want to secure a unit now before the surge in price hikes arrives.

At the end of last year, Volvo Cars reported it had 42,600 full-time employees, including office and R&D staff in Gothenburg, Sweden, at its assembly plants in Gothenburg, Ghent, Belgium, South Carolina, and in China, as well as an R&D site in Shanghai. Volvo is set to share its Q2 financial results on July 17, where we may first see the financial hardships executives are warning of.

Source: Automotive News