Battery maker Northvolt faces legal and financial problems

Northvolt facility in Vasteras, Sweden (Photo: Reuters)

The Financial Times has reported that battery manufacturer Northvolt is to be served a ‘suspicion of gross manslaughter’ notice over the death of an employee.

The notice, served by Swedish prosecutors, follows the death of a worker at one of the battery manufacturer’s plants in December 2023. The 25-year old worker died after suffering severe burns following an explosion on the battery production line.

Environmental prosecutor Christer B Jarlås told the FT that Northvolt will be served with formal notice of the suspicion shortly. This is the preliminary step before any charges are brought.

“We have questioned lots of people employed by the company,” he said. “We now want to question somebody who can speak for the company.”

In addition to the worker’s death, which Northvolt’s chief executive described as a ‘dark day’, the company has been having a difficult year.

The group, which has Volkswagen and Goldman Sachs Asset Management as its largest shareholders, is having problems raising additional capital funding. To date, Northvolt has raised €15 billion.

Over the summer, BMW cancelled a $2 billion battery contract due to concerns about finished product delivery speed.

Investors told the company’s chief executive, Peter Carlsson, that it needs to reduce cash spend by carrying out job cuts. Following delivery of that message, the company announced that it would cut about 20% of its global workforce, approximately 1600 employees.