SVT News has obtained court documents showing that Northvolt introduced a bonus program to retain certain employees. The bonus program was introduced before the company submitted an application for bankruptcy protection to a court in Texas, in the United States on Thursday.
According to the documents, there are around 230 employees who can receive the bonuses, which consist of between three and nine extra monthly salaries. During the time that the court process in the USA is ongoing, the total cost of the payments will land at approximately SEK 59 million, according to the company’s calculations.
840 workers were fired
The move comes at the same time as the battery right is in the middle of a crisis. In October, it was reported that Northvolt is firing 840 workers from the factory in Skellefteå. The week before, it was announced that 338 civil servants would be allowed to leave. The company also has debts to its suppliers of SEK 2.5 billion, according to SVT.
According to Northvolt, the bonus program is crucial to “maintain work ethic, motivation and loyalty”, they write to the bankruptcy court. They also believe that the bonus payments are important to avoid interruptions in the business.
Not given to management
In the bankruptcy filing, they also write that they want to make sure that they get to pay back old bonuses and continue the bonus program as usual. No bonuses will be awarded to senior management.
There should not have been any unpaid bonuses in the program when the application for bankruptcy protection was submitted, according to the company.