Autoliv’s products—seat belts and airbags—are safety critical and universal fitted components; they are also almost always single sourced, guaranteeing suppliers long-term business once they have been nominated for a given contract. Announcing its Q2 2023 results recently, the company reported rising revenue, profits and margins. Significantly it also said it had managed to agree price increases with customers to compensate it for rising inflation and raw material prices.
Interestingly, however, these positive results were preceded by an announcement in June that it was planning a major round of cost cutting; specifically this will centre on cutting 11% or 8,000 of its worldwide labour force, in turn meaning the closure of several factories and downsizing at others.
