Saab to axe 200 employees

Swedish car maker, Saab, is set to trim 200 of its temporary employees (1/8th of its current staff), according to a union official.

Hakan Skott, union spokesperson at Saab, said that the action was likely after Saab’s new owner, Dutch supercar maker Spyker, cut its sales target from 60,000 units in February, to 45,000 in summer and ultimately to just 30,000 cars at end of October.

"I'm not exactly surprised [about the layoffs]. We reduced our sales forecast just a couple of weeks ago and there is a decline in sales every year around Christmas and at the end of the year," Skott said. "I'm sure that by February-March we will see an upward trend and people will buy cars again," he added.

Saab has said it needs to sell around 80,000 cars annually to break even. Spyker's CEO Victor Muller said, "There is absolutely no reason to worry. Our plans for the future still stand. Next year, we will build 80,000 cars".

"You take them aboard when you need them and when they are not needed, they are not on board."