The captain abandons the ship. The CEO of battery manufacturer Northvolt announced on Friday, November 22, the resignation of its CEO and co-founder Peter Carlsson. A new shock, after the announcement the day before of the filing of a request for judicial recovery in the United States by the company.
The procedure, which uses Chapter 11 of the American bankruptcy law, should allow the Swede to “restructure its debt, adapt its activity to the current needs of its customers and ensure a sustainable basis for the continuation of its activities,” the company explained in a press release. The company aims to complete its restructuring by the first quarter of 2025.
The company hopes to take advantage of the procedure to find financing of 145 million dollars (139 million euros). One of the Swedish industrialist’s clients has already provided $100 million in new financing to support its commercial activities. “The company will continue to make deliveries to its customers, while fulfilling its obligations to its essential suppliers and paying salaries to its employees,” the company said in a statement.
Breakdown in battery demand for electric vehicles
Like other young companies, the lithium-ion battery cell manufacturer has bet on a boom in the electric car market, investing heavily in the production of batteries for European car manufacturers. Alas, faced with lower than expected demand for electric vehicles, the group already announced at the end of September the layoffs of 1,600 people in Sweden – for 6,500 employees worldwide.
A few days earlier, the company had presented a restructuring plan, including the sine die suspension of the activity of its cathode factory, in Skelleftea, and the abandonment of a project for a production plant for active materials of cathode, also in Sweden.
Added to the market ups and downs is the industrial slippage of the Swedish company, created in 2016. At the beginning of the summer, the Swedish group lost a 2 billion euro contract signed in 2020 with the German manufacturer BMW to the profit from the Korean manufacturer Samsung SDI. The cause: production delays and the poor quality of the batteries leaving the Skellefteå factory, located in the north of Sweden.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
