DUBLIN, Va. – Around 700 people will be out of a job after Volvo announced it will lay off employees at the start of 2020.
“We regret having to take this action, but we operate in a cyclical market, and after two years of extremely high volumes, we have to adapt to reduced market demand,” said John Mies, with corporate communications for Volvo.
This comes after the manufacturer announced that it would invest nearly $400 million in the New River Valley.
According to the company, layoffs will start around January 20, 2020.
“We expect the total North American truck market to be down nearly 30 percent, or about 100,000 trucks, next year. And we expect one of Volvo’s core segments, the long-haul truck market, to represent a significant part of that reduction,” said Mies.
There will reportedly be outplacement support meetings led by the company and UAW for all affected employees.