Everything depends, of course, on demand – but it's a large factory and I think we need a few hundred employees to get production up and running again, says Matthias E J Arleth to TT after Lyten announced that he has been appointed CEO of Lyten Sweden.
”Certainly several thousand”
But there are many positions that need to be filled, according to Arleth. And in the long term – if the market develops as he expects – more employees will be needed.
I think 5,000 was too many for the production Northvolt had. But I'm sure it will be more than a thousand employees, certainly several thousand in the end when everything is up and running again, he says about the internal plans.
But we must proceed cautiously with as slim a team as possible and focus on achieving production with quality, he adds.
Arleth started working as operational manager at Northvolt in the fall of 2024 and had "a key role in the restructuring in Sweden and successfully improving production in Skellefteå", writes Lyten in a press release.
Lyten has, in addition to the Sweden manager Arleth, given Marcus Danglemaier from Northvolt continued confidence as CEO of the battery factory Northvolt Ett. The same applies to Sami Haikala, CEO of Northvolt Labs in Västerås – a role he had at Northvolt in 2022–2025.
Dennis van Schie will simultaneously take on the role of purchasing manager for Lyten Sweden, based in Stockholm.
”People want to return”
Lyten has also recruited Robert Chryc Gawrychowski as CEO of Lyten Poland in Gdansk, Poland. He has, according to Lyten, "been involved since the start of Northvolt Poland and has in-depth knowledge of the business and customers".
This is a perfect team, with the right experience, says Arleth.
The recruitment of everyone needed for production will begin in earnest when it's a real situation and Lyten's acquisition of Northvolt's assets has been completed.
I think it will be at the beginning of the fourth quarter, says Arleth.
Contact has already been made with key individuals.
We have contacted many of those who worked at Northvolt before and have received very positive reactions. People want to return and be involved again. So I'm fairly positive.
Battery manufacturer Lyten has signed a binding agreement to buy the bankrupt Northvolt's assets.
Lyten is an unlisted American company, with its headquarters in San José, California. The company has, over a period of ten years, built up a production of lithium-sulfur batteries, sensors, and composite materials. Northvolt's production was about lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
The Northvolt assets that Lyten is buying have previously been valued at around five billion dollars, according to Lyten. The price Lyten pays for the bankrupt Northvolt's assets is secret, but takes place according to Lyten with existing funds in the company.
The deal must be approved by competition authorities in Sweden and Germany, as well as the EU Commission. It also requires clearance from the Inspectorate for Strategic Products (ISP).
In connection with Northvolt's bankruptcy application in March 2025, there were approximately 5,000 employees, of which around 3,000 were in the battery factory Northvolt Ett in Skellefteå.
