Word: gyllenhammar
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Volvo Boss Pehr Gyllenhammar is justifiably proud of his company's solidly engineered cars, but his business deals seem not to be put together so well. The energetic and outspoken Gyllenhammar has been searching for ways to boost sales, but his efforts have resulted so far in little more than wheel spinning. Plans to build an assembly plant in the U.S. and to merge with archcompetitor Saab-Scania have both had to be given up for one reason or another. Last week Gyllenhammar got his biggest setback yet; opposition by Volvo shareholders forced him to scrap a plan...
...sales: $4.3 billion), its share of the vitally important U.S. and European auto markets is precariously thin, and profits at home have been squeezed by Sweden's high wages and stagnant productivity. With the price of a top-of-the-line Volvo now $16,000 in most markets Gyllenhammar had been counting on his Norwegian connection for the money needed to develop a radically designed lightweight vehicle that would give the company broader market appeal for the mid-1980s...
...deal had been thrashed out in a series of secret meetings last spring between Gyllenhammar and Norwegian Premier Odvar Nordli. But when Volvo shareholders found out about it, they protested that the terms were not nearly sweet enough, and a growing number threatened to vote no at this week's annual meeting. Late last week, faced with enough proxy votes to block the sale, Volvo's board of directors abandoned the effort to win approval of Gyllenhammar's plan. Ironically, that was good news for Norway's Nordli. His minority Labor government faced increasing protests...
Volvo chief sought a merger with his smaller but more profitable Swedish rival, Saab-Scania. The engagement was announced, but Saab-Scania became worried about Volvo's decline and broke it off. After Falldin's government refused to help, Gyllenhammar secretly turned to Norwegian Premier Odvar Nordli...
...Gyllenhammar faces opposition from Sweden's contentious union leaders, who are alarmed because some 500 of the company's 41,626 domestic jobs will be lost to the Norwegians. But he has a powerful argument: unless Volvo gets help, it is bound to decline...