- We are making a good quarter and the company is doing well right now. But we do see cloud clouds in the sky as we look towards 2020. We also see that in our order intake, says Scania's CEO Henrik Henriksson.

Order intake during the first nine months of the year fell 8 percent. In the third quarter, the decline was 11 percent.

- It shows that the braking is accelerating, says Henriksson.

Demand is falling

He expects demand in Europe to fall by 10-20 percent in 2019. Other markets, such as China, Russia, the Middle East and Latin America, are also looking bleak. The only exception is Brazil, where the Scania manager hopes the market will be stable or grow somewhat.

Up to 1,300 people who were hired extra for two years to handle Scania's new truck model have already left the organization. And in the production apparatus, people are now looking for other opportunities to reduce the workforce without losing skills.

Henriksson expects 500–800 fixed-term employees in production to go down the cuts. In addition, there is an as yet unknown number of consultants within the civil service organization, whose contracts will not be renewed.

- We must slow down the production rate and lower it so that it meets demand. We only build trucks on which we have received orders, we are not based on speculation.

Production volumes were already lowered this summer and will be down another snap in November. The aim is to reduce the volume by up to 20 percent. The focus is on image and customer satisfaction after a period of high demand, which for Scania has been characterized by the truck manufacturer's market share increased to 19 percent in Europe.

- Historically, the market share we have is extremely high and if we are to defend our price position then we will lose a bit of a neighbor there, says Henriksson.

Can extend Christmas holidays

At the same time, Scania personnel are waiting for what is called a rebalancing, where you look at production rates and shifts that can be demolished in the workshops where cabins or engines are manufactured.

- We are rebalancing the entire company to lower revenue and lower earning capacity, but ensure that we maintain the strength in terms of profitability so that we can maintain competence and our advanced position in both products and services.

Scania also has a system of time banks for the employees, which allows them to cut production at tough times without getting rid of people.

- It means, for example, that you can extend the Christmas holidays, if it works. It is probably often appreciated by the employees as well.

During the deep fall of 2008–2009, Scania went down on a four-day week for production employees, in order to retain competence.

"We are reviewing our portfolio"

Scania's own program for investment in research and development is also affected by the decline, according to Henriksson.

- We are reviewing our portfolio of new products and new services and adjusting our level of ambition.

He adds that this will be done at the same time as Scania runs on the programs for electrification and self-driving vehicles and lives up to its commitments regarding the development of technology platforms vis-à-vis other companies within the Traton group.

- It will be a difficult trade-off, to ensure that we can respond but still ensure that we can maintain our technology leadership.