(Bloomberg) -- The crisis at Swedish battery maker Northvolt AB contributed to an historically high rate of bankruptcies last month, when the company’s main expansion project in Skelleftea went insolvent.
A total of 821 companies went bankrupt in October compared to the monthly average of 576 over the past 10 years, according to credit reference agency Creditsafe. Several large bankruptcies were connected to Northvolt, the agency said in a statement.
The Northvolt unit managing the expansion of its main battery-cell factory in northern Sweden filed for bankruptcy in the middle of last month, saddling suppliers with about 606 million kronor ($56.8 million) in claims. The move followed September’s decision to shed 1,600 jobs in Sweden — including 1,000 in Skelleftea, home to the main factory — in response to a deepening cash crunch at the battery maker.
“We’re moving toward a grim total for 2024, as we have already passed the total from 2023,” Creditsafe Chief Executive Officer Henrik Jacobsson said. “Plenty of companies are still fighting for their survival.”
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