Criticism of age discrimination has been pouring in since Bengtsson said to Di on Sunday:
"We need a CEO who can have a perspective of five to seven years, and it's enough to look at Monica's birth certificate to realize that then a CEO change will occur during this period."
Monica Lingegård is turning 63 years old this year.
"My statement about 'birth certificate' in connection with SJ's CEO's announced departure was unusually stupid from my side. It can rightly be perceived as age discrimination. I am as far from age or other discrimination as you can get, and I apologize unconditionally if I have been perceived in that way", Bengtsson's statement reads.
At the same time, he means that Lingegård's age has nothing to do with the decision to dismiss her. Instead, he says that his reasoning was rather about the fact that "many after a long CEO career want to slow down at 65", even though there are many exceptions.
The reason behind the dismissal is still unclear. No opinions about Lingegård's work effort have been made public and according to Bengtsson, it is not whistleblowing about her leadership style that is the basis for the dismissal.
Lingegård herself has stated that she would have liked to continue as CEO.
