Volvo plans to lay off 250 to 350 employees at its New River Valley plant in Dublin by the end of June as part of a round of job cuts affecting up to 800 people in all.
Volvo currently employs about 3,400 people making heavy-duty trucks at the Pulaski County location. The 2.3-million-square-foot plant is the largest Volvo manufacturing facility in the world.
Employees were notified Thursday. Affected employees’ last day at the Dublin plant will be June 27, Volvo spokesperson Janie Coley said in a statement.
“Heavy-duty truck orders continue to be negatively affected by market uncertainty about freight rates and demand, possible regulatory changes, and the impact of tariffs,” Coley said.
In February, the company announced layoffs affecting 250 to 350 employees at the Dublin plant. Coley said that ended up being 180 people due to attrition.
In this latest round of cuts, the company will also lay off 250 to 350 employees at its Mack Trucks Lehigh Valley Operations plant in Macungie, Pennsylvania, and 50 to 100 at its Volvo Group Powertrain Operations facility in Hagerstown, Maryland.
“We regret having to take this action, but we need to align production with reduced demand for our vehicles,” Coley said.
Sweden-based Volvo employs more than 19,600 people in North America, according to its website.
In July, Volvo was awarded a $208 million federal grant to upgrade its Dublin plant and two other facilities making electric trucks and batteries.
Coley said in January that the project had a five-year timeline, and it was unclear how a federal funding freeze ordered by President Donald Trump would affect that schedule.
Volvo spokesperson John Mies said Monday that the company had no update to share about the project.
This year’s announcements are not the first mass layoffs to impact the New River Valley plant.
In 2019, about 3,000 Volvo employees were temporarily laid off in Dublin after workers in Maryland went on strike.
Later that year, the company announced it would lay off 700 employees due to decreased demand. A Volvo spokesperson told CBS affiliate WDBJ that the company “operate[s] in a cyclical market.”
In 2016, Volvo also laid off hundreds of employees, although it was able to lower its initial estimate of 734 impacted employees to about 600, according to The Roanoke Times.
