Manager at Northvolt ruled not responsible for hiring illegal workers

Skellefteå district court today acquitted a manager at the battery cell manufacturer Northvolt who was accused of violating Sweden's Aliens Act by hiring workers who were found by police to not have the right to work and live in Sweden.

The court accepted the defence argument that the 12 construction workers, mainly from Serbia and India, who have since been deported, were employed by companies working with a subcontractor and therefore Northvolt was not responsible for their legal status.

The police carried out spot checks on the battery plant construction site in November 2021 after union representatives had criticised the working and living conditions for foreign workers.