The sole remaining member of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group, Volvo Cars announced on Wednesday it will cut 2,000 jobs in its operations in light of the current downturn in the industry. The automaker will eliminate 1,400 white-collar employees and 600 blue-collar workers, most of whom are employed in its home market of Sweden.

Citing a $151 million loss for the first quarter, the automaker said it is no longer able to offset the weak US dollar and increasing price of raw materials with cost reduction and efficiency programs. The new measure that includes the job eliminations are worth about $670 million, the automaker says.

Of the 2,000 employee cuts, 300 will be outside of Sweden, although it is not known how many of those will include North America. At its Torslanda plant in Western Sweden, Volvo will eliminate the third shift which translates to 600 employees, and is currently in negotiations with union representatives.

Hints of these job cuts, although on a much smaller scale, were reported back in May, along with a possible sale of the brand by Ford. Kirk Kerkorian, whose Tracinda group recently bought shares of Ford and now owns nearly 6.5 percent, is also likely to influence the struggling automaker to sell off the Volvo brand.

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