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She has had a salary that many people her age can only dream of.
But now Moa Olsén, 22, has been dismissed from Northvolt – and is looking for a job that can match her new lifestyle.
– I know it sounds privileged, but I’m used to living a certain way. The house alone costs 20,000 a month.
Moa, 22, about the job hunt in Skellefteå
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– We bought this for 2.5 million, but it needs a lot of renovation. Nothing has been done since the 1980s, says Moa Olsén, 22, when she opens the door to the large villa in Bergsbyn in Skellefteå.
Six months ago, everything looked so good. Moa Olsén and Lukas Arvidsson, 25, had worked for a long time at Northvolt, been promoted and got engaged. They bought a house and moved in in August. Barely a month later, word came of the big announcement.
– I thought I would be fine because I had been there for so long, in March it would be three years, says Moa Olsén.
Started on the floor
But it didn’t happen that way. In mid-October, she learned that she was one of the 338 employees at the company who lost their jobs. She has chosen to continue working, from home, during the notice period and will have her last day on January 17.
– I handle documents, work orders. In a construction site, you need it to be able to work. Now we have some very old orders that have been forgotten to be closed. So I simply end them.
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full screen In August, Moa Olsén and Lukas Arvidsson moved into the house a stone’s throw from where Lukas grew up and close to the workplace – Northvolt. Now they are renovating. Photo: Lotte Fernvall
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full screen “When my colleagues ask where I grew up, I usually say that they can stand in the parking lot and throw a tennis ball, then you will get to where I grew up,” says Lukas Arvidsson, who is allowed to continue working in the factory. Photo: Lotte Fernvall
She started on the factory floor and worked her way up to clerk. Now she is looking for a new job through Linkedin and acquaintances. The dream is to work in accounting.
How is it going?
– So it’s a struggle. My document management job actually requires training. But I got it because people got to know me and know what I’m good at, says Moa Olsén.
– I feel that there is a bit of a job drought these days, not many people are hiring. And those who hire would like you to have a fairly high level of education. Sure, there are jobs as a nurse and doctor, but that’s not me, she continues.
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full screen“When I heard that Northvolt was going to be established here, I thought it was absolutely fantastic. That it would affect everyone in Skellefteå,” says Lukas Arvidsson. He and Moa believe that Northvolt has created a Stockholm standard in Skelleftå with its high wages. Here together with the dog Keena. Photo: Lotte Fernvall
“Accustomed to living a certain way now”
Because even though there are plenty of jobs to look for in Skellefteå, not many of them are as highly paid as the Northvolt jobs.
– Well, I know it sounds strange, but I can’t take just any job. I can’t start working in a restaurant again, for example, says Moa Olsén.
Why not?
– My expenses for the house alone are over SEK 20,000 a month. I know that sounds very privileged of me, but I’m used to living a certain way now.
– And I think it’s sad that it’s turned out like this, that I feel like I can’t go back to a regular youth job, she says.
In addition, she has several insurance policies that kick in now that she has been laid off, should she become unemployed in January. This means that she gets more out of them than in a low-wage job.
– I think it’s really sad that it’s like that. Because I really want to work rather than be unemployed.
Almost got a job – in Gävle
Fiancé Lukas Arvidsson, 25, gets up from the couch where he was resting. He has been allowed to keep his job as team leader for maintenance at Northvolt and is on shift leave. He also does not have any university education, but nevertheless earns well above the median salary in Sweden.
– I have worked everywhere in the factory and stayed on the workers’ side. This means that I get to teach new people. There is a lot of overtime every month, says Lukas Arvidsson.
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full screen In August 2025, Lukas Arvidsson and Moa Olsén will marry. Photo: Lotte Fernvall
They say that many of their old colleagues who have now had to quit have applied to the mines in other cities in the north. Wages are high there too. Moa Olsén herself was prepared to take a job in Gävle, 60 miles south, and commute weekly. The employer would pay for accommodation and travel.
– But when I calculated it, I would still lose too much from it. I requested 2,000 more in salary, since then they have not returned. So I guess nothing will come of it, says Moa Olsén.
“Earning 11,000 more now”
Both Lukas and Moa know that they have salaries and a lifestyle that many people their age can only dream of.
– And it’s really sick. But, we also work for that money, says Moa Olsén.
– But then you also have to understand that Northvolt has been extremely desperate to get people in, which is why everyone has received a higher salary. And when the low paying jobs at Northvolt have been bumped up due to the income requirement for foreign workers, the other wages have also been bumped up. I earn 11,000 more now than when I started, she continues.
– They have shot themselves in the foot with these salaries, says Lukas Arvidsson.
Had enough for 150 people
That Northvolt now plans to pay a Christmas bonus to approximately 230 employees who will share approximately SEK 59 million, which SVT was the first to tellLukas and Moa react strongly to.
– It would have been enough for like 150 people of those who were made redundant to have been able to keep working. It’s really bad, says Moa Olsén.
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full screen Moa Olsén has moved 26 times during her life. Shortly after she met Lukas Arvidsson at a car meet in Umeå, they moved in together. Photo: Lotte Fernvall
FACT Document Skellefteå
arrow In 2017, it became clear that Northvolt would build a battery factory in Skellefteå. Northvolt’s area is now 150 hectares – like 300 football pitches or like three Gamla Stan.
arrow Northvolt’s establishment meant that the municipality greatly increased its investment and purchasing budget and that many other companies came to the municipality.
arrow The population of Skellefteå has increased from approximately 72,800 in 2017 to 78,647 inhabitants on 30 September 2024.
arrow Labor immigrants have arrived and young people have stayed. Housing prices and wages have skyrocketed.
arrow But last autumn, Northvolt notified a thousand people, one of the subsidiaries went bankrupt. What happens to Skellefteå now?
arrow Aftonbladet’s Mariela Quintana Melin and Lotte Fernvall take you to a city in transformation.
Read more