After several months of trying to bring in new capital to the company and a so-called Chapter 11 process in the USA, there was no other alternative, according to the company's interim chairman Tom Johnstone:
It is really with a heavy heart that we have applied for bankruptcy today. This was not an easy decision to make, he says at a press conference.
Also present at the press conference was the former CEO Peter Carlsson, who resigned in connection with the corporate reconstruction in the USA.
We have worked for the past year to find different financing solutions and have been close several times, but unfortunately, we did not quite make it, he says.
The Face Outwards
Carlsson has largely been the face outwards for Northvolt's expansive venture. Five years ago, he stood at a press conference in Stockholm and announced that 10,000 new jobs would be created thanks to the company, including in Skellefteå.
Now, it is instead nearly 5,000 jobs that are being lost. Many of the employees received the news through the media before the company had a chance to inform them.
In a comment, the Unionen club writes that it is a dark day in Skellefteå and the Swedish Engineers call the news "devastating".
Now, the business is instead being handed over to a bankruptcy trustee, who is appointed by the Stockholm District Court. This will now lead the work of selling off Northvolt's assets and operations to get money for the creditors in the bankruptcy.
Drive On
According to Johnstone, however, there is a possibility to drive on Northvolt's operations with new owners and thereby save some of the jobs that are at risk of disappearing.
I hope this is not the last chapter, says Peter Carlsson.
Johnstone says that many production problems have been addressed and the outflow of money has been slowed down. There have also been talks with both industrial and financial partners about new capital during the Chapter 11 process.
But I cannot promise anything. It is up to the bankruptcy trustee, says Johnstone.
In recent times, Peter Carlsson has been noticed for his share sales in the company, which have generated around 200 million kronor in profit for his part.
When asked how he feels about having been one of the few people who have actually made money on the company when so many others have lost both jobs and investments, the answer was brief:
Today, I do not want to comment on this, it is an incredibly stupid question.
The Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt, which currently has nearly 5,000 employees, sold its first battery in 2022 and then said it was aiming for a stock exchange listing with a valuation of around 200 billion kronor.
But after a series of production problems, the winds turned clearly last year. In the summer of 2024, they lost a large order from BMW, and during the autumn, the loss-making company made drastic personnel cuts and project closures to get the economy in order.
In November, Northvolt applied for bankruptcy protection in a court in Texas, USA, with the aim of restructuring the debt mountain of 60 billion and getting new capital in the first quarter of this year.
On Wednesday, the company applied for bankruptcy in the Stockholm District Court.
The bankruptcy application concerns the units Northvolt AB, Northvolt Ett AB, Northvolt Labs AB, Northvolt Revolt AB, and Northvolt Systems AB.
