Terrafame looks to cut jobs as electric vehicle sales slow
LONDON (Reuters) – Finnish battery chemical maker Terrafame has started negotiations with its employees to cut jobs and the number of hours worked as the slowdown in demand for electric vehicles means it has to reduce costs, the company said on Tuesday.
Sales of electric vehicles globally have been slowing for months for reasons including a lack of charging infrastructure and concerns about resale values.
Prices of battery chemicals have dropped alongside those for metals such as nickel and cobalt used to make these chemicals.
Terrafame said in a statement that it expects the battery chemicals market will continue to be challenging next year and that the company, which employed 826 people at the end of September, needs to cut its payroll.
“According to the company’s initial estimate, the maximum personnel reduction need would be in total 75 person-years,” Terrafame said. “The possibility of, for example, layoffs, changes to job descriptions, and shifting to part-time work is also considered in the negotiations.”
However, Terrafame CEO Seppo Voutilainen said: “Despite a temporary market downswing, the electrification of mobility is inevitable. Terrafame is a significant part of the European battery value chain, and we believe in the demand for battery chemicals in the longer term.”
Terrafame has capacity to produce nickel sulphate for around one million electric vehicles a year. The carbon footprint of the nickel sulphate produced by Terrafame is among the lowest in the industry, the company said.
