Volvo to cut 2,500 jobs as China slumps and US tariffs bite

Volvo lays off 2,500 workers caught between China's slowdown and tariffs

A truck with an electronic parking brake that refuses to re-engage, leaving the driver unable to switch off the engine. That scene, recounted by someone who has driven plenty of them, sums up the unease running through the conversation: the Swedish brand no longer inspires the confidence it once did. On top of that distrust comes the hard number: **2,500 layoffs** at Volvo, with the Chinese market sinking and US tariffs closing the door on the Polestar sub-brand.

The first battleground is identity. **Volvo has been a Chinese-owned company since 2010**, when Geely bought it. But the nuance matters and is debated: Geely acquired Volvo Cars from Ford, while **AB Volvo** —trucks, buses and machinery— stayed with the original Swedish group. Passenger car engineering remains in Gothenburg, with plants in Sweden, Belgium, the US and China. Those who blame the Chinese for the trucks' faults are pointing at the wrong division.

The electric car nobody buys at European prices

The heart of the problem is strategic. Volvo bet heavily on electric cars and its customers are resisting. The combustion and hybrid models, still European-made, keep the brand afloat in Europe; in China they are collapsing because **it cannot compete with local brands or Tesla** when selling more expensive cars with Chinese batteries. The result is a price-and-origin nonsense that buyers can see right through.

The harshest reading holds that China has already transferred all the useful technology to its own brands and leaves the European ones as bit players. The opposing view recalls that the brands sold to the Chinese were already broke: that's why they were sold. A third take points out that long-lasting combustion models weren't generating repeat sales, and planned obsolescence fixed that at the cost of reliability.

Who runs Volvo: the confusion between cars and trucks

The corporate split is the key many people overlook. The trucks still seen on the road —indestructible rocks that end up in Segarro when scrapped— are not Chinese. If that division has worsened, the responsibility is Swedish. The confusion between Volvo Cars and AB Volvo poisons the whole diagnosis.

The tariff Trump slapped on Polestar

The US decision to ban Polestar sales in America adds a geopolitical layer: software developed in China became the perfect excuse to shut the market. The official argument is security; the effect is a tariff. With the US closed off and China in decline, the margin narrows.

The verdict is not settled. The 2,500 layoffs are the fact; the exact cause is a tug-of-war between identity, tariffs and an electric bet that has yet to find its buyer.