NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden), the company struggling to bring the Saab brand back to life, said that it intends to lay off up to 200 employees due to lack of work, as the decision to re-start production will be further delayed.

NEVS had retained its permanent workforce for production since the production was stopped in the end of May this year to enable a quick re-start of production.Re-starting production would require securing long-term secured and a business plan that has been worked through together with a new majority owner.

The ongoing discussions on collaboration and ownership structure, which has not yet resulted in a binding agreement, indicates that the decision for a start-up of production will take time, NEVS said.

This being the condition, NEVS’ management decided to hand in a notice of intention to lay off up to 200 employees to the Swedish Public Employment Service.

The terminations will take place in September in order to reduce rapidly the company’s costs during the reorganization period. This is a step in the reorganization plan that the administrator will present on the creditors meeting on 8 October.

NEVS intends to retain the remaining staff to maintain the plant in good condition, to be prepared for the new production, after such a decision is taken, and to continue developing new products.