A couple of days ago it was announced that a Swedish car maker will be hiring 900 new engineers in Gothenburg the coming years. And the car maker is Volvo Cars. But where will they get all these engineers from?
It is no secret that Saab has a tough financial situation. In the business plan there was/is money to set the 9-5 Sedan, the 9-4X and the 9-5 SportCombi into production, as well as developing the next 9-3 set to launch in October 2012. But in addition to set new cars into production and developing the 9-3, Saab also needs money to run the production plant in Trollhättan. Saab needs to produce and sell cars to create cash flow. The last couple of days can indicate that the biggest financial challenge at the moment is to have a healthy cash flow.
So if the sales don't not pick up soon and settle at a pre-crises level, Saab might need a new financier to come and invest more money into Saab and secure the operation for at least two or three years to come. Thankfully the Russian banker Vladimir Antonov, has taken the first steps to become shareholder of Saab, but we still do not know i he will succeed or how much money he is willing to invest.
With this knowledge at hand, how do the engineers at Saab think? The last number I saw regarding engineers at Saab was just 900. Since then, some followed over to e-AAM and some to Vicura. Will Saab's engineers stay at Saab with their hopefully interesting and enjoyable jobs, or will the security of being part of a bigger company like Volvo lure them down to Gothenburg which is just 100 km south of Trollhättan?
Only time will tell. And time is of essence. The sooner Saab can reach financial stability the better.
A blog fueled by enthusiasm about Saab, the greatest car company between the North and the South Pole. And their cars, which probably is the only cars that would start on a cold and crispy South Pole morning.
