Asia Tech Wire (July 10) -- The Chinese joint venture of Polestar (PSNY:NASDAQ) , the Swedish electric car maker backed by Chinese automotive group Geely, has denied rumors of 30% job cuts.
Recently, rumors that Polestar Technology, a joint venture between Geely-backed smart device maker DreamSmart Group and Polestar, would lay off about 30% of its workforce by the end of September sparked a hot debate.
A person close to Polestar said on Tuesday that the rumored layoffs were in part related to a headquarters relocation
The person revealed that there were no 30% layoffs within the joint venture, only that its headquarters was relocating and some people were unwilling to move, so they chose to leave.
At the same time, the person said Polestar Technology will negotiate with those employees who are not willing to move to Nanjing to make compensation.
"At present, the Nanjing headquarters is built, the production and research departments have already moved there, it is not quite clear when they will finish moving," the person added.
DreamSmart and the local government officially signed a deal in January , planning to build the Polestar Technology China headquarters in Nanjing, which integrates R&D, operations, procurement, sales and delivery centers.
In addition to moving its China headquarters from Shanghai to Nanjing, there are also rumors that Polestar has closed its Chengdu plant and shifted production to its Chongqing plant, as well as a Geely plant.
These rumors suggested that as a result, a large number of employees in charge of production and supply had lost their jobs.
Polestar has refuted the rumors, saying that the personnel changes, which are due to preparations at its Nanjing headquarters, do not involve its Chengdu plant.
According to the company, Polestar's Chengdu plant and supply chain adjustments are part of the previous corporate layout planning adjustments, which were completed last year.
In addition, not long ago Polestar experienced a major personnel change.
In June, Polestar announced that Håkan Samuelsson, chairman of the company's board of directors, would be retiring and appointed Winfried Vahland as Samuelsson's successor.
The appointment will take effect after the company's annual general meeting. For now, Polestar's official website shows that Samuelsson is still in his role.
Meanwhile, sources said that two former Volvo mid-level executives have also joined Polestar Technology.
A person familiar with the matter said that former sales head of Volvo Cars Greater China, Qin Peiji, has joined Polestar Technology in June, taking charge of the company's sales, channel development, marketing, after-sales and other business segments.
The person also revealed that Jia Xiaohui, former senior director of public relations at Volvo Cars Greater China Sales, has also taken up a position at Polestar Technology as vice president of the user development center.
