Volvo axes 4,000 jobs over “drastic” industry downturn

Volvo is axing a further 4,000 jobs, blaming a "drastic" industry downturn for the losses.

The latest cuts come not long after the carmaker axed 2,000 jobs in June, bringing total losses to 6,000 jobs - equivalent to a quarter of the carmaker's global workforce.

"The unstable economic environment has resulted in a very unpredictable situation, and the downturn in the global car industry is more drastic than expected," said Stephen Odell, Volvo's chief executive,

Struggling sales in the US, Volvo's largest market, have been particularly hard on the brand, and contributed to the manufacturer recording a $271m (£156m) loss in the first half of the year.

Volvo's plant in Torslanda, near Gothenburg, will be hit the hardest and receive the highest number of losses.

Jobs are also set to be cut at its plant in Ghent, Belgium, where the brand's new XC60 has recently gone into production.

Industry speculation has suggested that Ford is looking to sell off Volvo.

While the brand has denied this, the latest round of job cuts will do little to dispel the industry rumours.