In order to achieve full electrification by 2030, more than 10% of Volvo white-collar workers in the United States and Canada have been laid off.

CTOnews.com, September 11 (Xinhua)-- Volvo will cut more than 10% of its white-collar workers in the United States and Canada as it cuts spending worldwide.

CEO Jim Rowan wants the carmaker to be fully electrified by 2030, a transition that will require a huge amount of money, so he is looking for ways to save money. Mr Rowan said Volvo wanted to increase its cost awareness by looking for more efficient ways.

In a recent interview with Auto News, Michael Cotton, president of Volvo cars in the United States and Canada, pointed out that Volvo has invested $88 million worldwide to reduce costs and improve efficiency (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 648 million yuan). In addition to layoffs, Volvo will provide some employees with the opportunity to retire early.

Volvo has also reduced the size of its Silicon Valley technology center and southern California design center by at least 75%. The job cuts come just months after Volvo cut its Swedish workforce by 6 per cent and cut about 1300 jobs.

"this is not only a cost-cutting plan, but also a cultural shift to cost awareness.... do things in different and more efficient ways," Rowan said. "as we grow up, we need to do this as soon as possible."

Mr Rowan also said the company was retraining its staff to switch to electric cars and wanted to hire people with expertise in battery chemistry, inverters and silicon carbide.