Volvo Buses plans to close plant in Tampere, Finland


Volvo Buses plans to close plant in Tampere, Finland

The Board of Directors of Volvo Bus Finland Oy has decided to initiate
negotiations with representatives of the employees with the intention to close
the bus body plant in Tampere. It is also about to reorganize operations at the
body plant in Turku to increase the competitiveness. In total, approx. 300
employees could be affected.


Currently, Volvo Buses has an overcapacity in its European bus body production
system and foresees that this will be the case also in the coming years. The
intention is to adjust production capacity as a part of the strategy to
strengthen Volvo Buses' profitability.

Volvo Buses European bus body production system consists of the two plants in
Finland, in Wroclaw, Poland, and in Säffle, Sweden. The plants in Tampere and
Wroclaw both manufacture the Volvo 8700 bus model. The plant in Poland has spare
capacity and by concentrating the production of the Volvo 8700 to Wroclaw, Volvo
Buses can obtain more cost-efficient production. 

In Turku, the plan is to reorganize to enhance the competitiveness of the
operations. The production of the Volvo 9700 coach model in Turku will be
focused on the Nordic markets. 
According to Finnish law, the representatives of the employees now have the
right to six weeks of negotiations before a final decision can be taken.

March 5, 2008

For further information, please contact Per-Martin Johansson, Press Officer, +46
31 322 52 00

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Volvo Bus Corporation is one of the world's largest manufacturer of large buses
and coaches. The range comprises complete vehicles, chassis, bus bodies,
transport system solutions for metropolitan traffic, leasing, financing and
service contract maintenance. Volvo Bus Corporation is part of the Volvo Group,
one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and construction
equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace
components and services. The Group also provides complete solutions for
financing and service.

Attachments

03042353.pdf