Baris Ozdere outside The Great Northern in central Skellefteå.
To support former Northvolt employees, Skellefteå municipality is hosting an open house at The Great Northern in central Skellefteå throughout the week.
Representatives from authorities and trade unions will be available to provide assistance. For international employees such as Baris Ozdere, the bankruptcy has created an urgent need to clarify their residency status in Skellefteå and Sweden.
– My work visa expires at the end of September, but practically, I have less time. Once schools close for the summer, interview opportunities diminish. We are financially stable, but securing employment is the challenge, he states.
Baris originally hails from Turkey and has his wife and daughter with him. They rent a home in Bureå and have grown fond of their new country. His ten-year-old daughter attends the International English School. His wife is enrolled in SFI (Swedish for immigrants) and aspires to work as a yoga instructor.
– Upon receiving the job offer from Northvolt, I accepted immediately and relocated my entire family to this beautiful nation.
Baris’s affinity for Sweden predates his employment at Northvolt.
– My father deeply admired Olof Palme, and since childhood, I have been told that Sweden is the ideal country to live in. Therefore, when the opportunity arose to move here, I did not hesitate.
Baris Ozdere has hope, despite everything.
He is highly educated, with seven years of university studies behind him and 18 years of experience working with automotive software, embedded systems, and quality assurance. His title is senior technology innovation engineer. But he is willing to do something completely different in order to stay in Skellefteå.
– I love Skellefteå and I have to find something. Second choice, somewhere else in Sweden, and as a last resort, I would go back to Turkey. I’m willing to take a less qualified job and a lower salary, he says.
Despite the difficult situation he and his family are currently facing, Baris remains hopeful for the future.
The Great Northern has been transformed into an open house and crisis center for those who have lost their jobs at Northvolt.
– Northvolt has been good for us, and I believe in the future of electric cars. I think someone will want to buy the factory to reduce the gap to China in that market.
– But I don't have much time to wait. I can only hope that I will be able to continue contributing to Sweden's welfare, says Baris.