Volkswagen investment chief steps down from Northvolt board

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STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -The head of investments at German auto maker Volkswagen is leaving the board of Sweden’s Northvolt, the Swedish battery maker said on Monday, confirming media reports.

Northvolt told Reuters it expects Volkswagen to find a board replacement for Sven Fuhrmann, who has held a board seat since last year.

The German group is Northvolt’s biggest owner with a stake of 21%, according to its annual report.

Once hailed as Europe’s best chance of a home-grown electric-vehicle battery champion, Northvolt is cutting jobs as it seeks to tackle production problems, deal with the loss of a major customer contract and a lack of funding.

It said on Monday it was in talks with stakeholders to raise cash, without specifying which ones.

“Volkswagen is a longstanding partner of Northvolt, and we are in close cooperation with Volkswagen and their brands that Northvolt serves,” Northvolt said in the statement.

Volkswagen’s brands that are customers of Northvolt include Audi and truckmaker Scania, according to its annual report.

Volkswagen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Marie Mannes, writing by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Barbara Lewis)