"In one way, it's not a surprise," said Mona Hagerlöf, who along with some of her co-workers at Ericsson came early to the rally. "We've been suspecting that something like this could happen. But it feels bitter to hear about it on the seven o'clock news and realize others have known about this beforehand. As workers, we should be the first to be informed, not the last."

Ericsson presented its first "crisis package" in late January, announcing that it would shift its production in Kumla from cell-phones to operating stations. "We worked hard, but never got the chance to do this," another worker told the Militant. "No thank you, we want to keep our jobs," she said upon being handed a leaflet from Kunskapslyftet (the Knowledge Lift), an education program for unemployed workers.

The layoffs at Ericsson and its subcontractors are the largest in Sweden since the closing of the country's six biggest shipyards in the late 1970s. Before reporting a 5 billion krona loss for the first three months of the year, Ericsson accounted for roughly 20 percent of the total stock value of the Stockholm Stock Market, which it has dominated for years (1 krona = US 10 cents). Ericsson accounts for some 16 percent of Sweden's exports. Following the report, the company's stock plunged by 22 percent.

"The whole nation, the whole of Sweden has been proud that Ericsson is a Swedish company," said Göran Johnsson, national president of the Metal Workers Union, at the rally in Kumla. "We want to continue being proud." Johnsson asked the two top Ericsson bosses, CEO Kurt Hellström and Chairman of the Board Lars Ramqvist, "You get paid 15 to 20 million kronas. Now show that you deserve these high salaries."

Metal Workers Union local president Peder Boström presented a range of measures that, he said, "will save at least 1,000 jobs." Among the proposals presented to the company were to withdraw production from subcontractors, increase "flexibility," early retirement, an education program, and to sack (layoff) the 1,700 workers at Ericsson employed nationally through agencies such as Manpower. Boström ended his speech by pleading to the company bosses, "Don't let Ericsson fall. Don't move the jobs to low-wage countries, let the jobs remain in Sweden."

On the day of the rally, Swedish minister of industry Björn Rosengren supported Johnsson and picked up on the same economic nationalist theme, blaming the layoffs at Ericsson on "an Americanization of Swedish industry, in which profit and upturns on the stock market control the whole process."  
 
'Not much confidence in Ericsson'
Anna-Karin Karlsson, who has worked with surface soldering for six years at Ericsson, said the rally "was good. We showed that we care about what's happening." She told the Militant about a co-worker who moved to Kumla from Norrköping when the company closed its factory there in 1997. "He doesn't have a lot of confidence in Ericsson anymore."

Many workers from the closed factory in Norrköping moved to work at the Ericsson plant in nearby Linköping in 1997. In January, Ericsson announced that 500 people would be laid off at the Linköping factory. But by March rumors were spreading that this would not be enough, and one-third of the workers at the plant called in sick March 22. Four days later Ericsson announced they would lay off 1,100 out of the 1,650 workers in this factory.

"I really hope the union local will call a membership meeting now," said Kjell Nielsen after the rally in Kumla. Nielsen, now an assembler, worked as a driver until the company outsourced the job. "It is important that we discuss our demands before the negotiations begin on who will be laid off," he said. Nielsen said Ericsson has hired an outfit to "measure the competence" of the workers, which many union members fear will be used by the company to handpick which workers they want to keep. "I think the union should demand the company stick strictly to the seniority principle, and not agree to anything else," Nielsen said.

The plunging stock value of Ericsson, along with the layoff announcement, has resulted in a media campaign demanding that Hellström and Ramqvist resign. After its first three-month report for 2001, the liberal daily Expressen put two pictures of Hellström, along with the text "Wanted," on the front page of its March 14 issue.

Ericsson has announced that another "package of measures" will be presented on April 20 in connection with the next quarterly report.

Catharina Tirsén is a member of the Metal Workers Union at Ericsson Radio Access in Stockholm. Daniel Ahl is a member of the Industrial Union in Stockholm.  
 
 
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