Volvo Starts Major Recruitment Program

One of the biggest recruitment programs in Volvo's history is about to start, with the Swedish car maker's executives announcing on Tuesday that Volvo is in need of some 1,200 people next year. Most of them, says Volvo, will be recruited for the research and development departments.

Volvo plans to bring the additional staff on board in light of the future expansion process it plans to carry out. Building on the good results of last year, and with the eyes set on the future of automotive industry, Volvo will use most of the people it will hire in the R&D projects related to electrification.

Aside for the bulk of new employees in this sector, Volvo is also planning an expansion of the Purchasing, IT and Marketing departments, as well as in manufacturing. Out of the 1,200 people to be hired, 1,000 are needed in Sweden (900 engineers for Product Development), the rest being required for the Ghent manufacturing plant in Belgium.

"This is one of the biggest recruitment projects that Volvo Car Corporation ever has carried out. The new engineers are needed to develop the technologies and car models which are part of the aggressive product plan that our board and executive management team has developed," said Bjorn Sallstrom, Volvo Human Resources vice president.

In the near future, Volvo might become one of the best employers on the market. Currently owned by the Chinese from Geeely, the auto maker experienced last year an 11.6 percent increase in sale.

The Ghent plant is expected to reach new record levels in production volumes this year, while the lines at the Torslanda plant in Gothenburg have been sped up to meet the increasing demand.