Investing in People

Our Human Resources (HR) organization and activities support Autoliv's overriding profitability target by making sure that our Company offers an attractive and safe workplace and by making sure that we have enough skilled, talented and well-motivated people to maintain growth.

	Total Headcount The total headcount in Autoliv has increased by 23% to almost 40,000 at the end of 2004 from 32,400 in 2000. Of the headcount in 2004, 13% are temporary, hourly workers mainly in high-labor-cost countries in order to provide greater flexibility in case of a recession. Of the total headcount, 65% are direct workers in manufacturing and another 20% are headcount in the production overhead. Close to 10% of headcount are involved in R,D&E and 5% work in Sales and Administration.
	Headcount by Age and Gender One percent of the employees are women under 20, 7% are women between 20 and 25 years, and 11% are men between 26 and 30 years. Currently, 45% of headcount are women. The average age of the employees is 35 years. The age distribution reflects Autoliv¡¯s rapid expansion, which has led to many younger, newly employed people.
	Training Days The number of days invested in employee training and development has tripled to six days on average from less than two in 2001. The sharp increase is partly due to a more comprehensive reporting system.

People Development and Leadership

We have significantly increased our investments in development programs (see graph). We offer a wide range of such programs, including on-the-job training, job-rotation and international assignments.

We also have a program for identifying employees with high potential who are offered development plans, including leadership training and expatriate positions.

In addition to attracting and retaining talented professionals, our target is not only to have a balance between men and women, but also a diversity of age groups and nationalities and that 70% of our newly appointed managers should be internally recruited. To meet these targets, a new succession-planning program for all key positions worldwide was introduced during 2004.

Equal Opportunity

Our Code of Ethics draws on the "Global Sullivan Principles of Social Responsibilities" and on the principles of the United Nations "Global Compact".

Consequently, we promote equal opportunities for all employees at all levels irrespective of such issues as color, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity or religious beliefs and we condemn the exploitation of children or other forms of abuse. We particularly strive for an increased number of women in managerial positions, which is reflected in our identification process for high-potential employees.

Our code of ethics is available at www.autoliv.com under "Governance".

Health and Safety

To remain an attractive employer, we also invest in the well being of our associates. These investments range from safe and healthy workplaces and competitive compensations, to ethical principles and promoting sustainable development.

The injury rate is very low in our plants. All plants' safety records are benchmarked on a quarterly basis to reduce the levels even more.

Labor absenteeism in our West European plants typically amounts to 6-10% while the absenteeism levels in our plants in America and the rest of the world are 2-3% despite almost identical manufacturing processes. Even if the difference is due to the public health care compensation programs in Europe, reduction of labor absenteeism remains an important target for us.

The Global Culture

To take full advantage of Autoliv's superior global reach, the core values that were established last year have been communicated in the relevant languages in each country throughout our global organization. These core values and our ten leadership principles have also been integrated into our new global leadership-training program.

To strengthen global cooperation within the group, the annual bonuses to key employees are mainly measured on the consolidated income of our group.

International assignments contribute to personal development and global cooperation. These assignments continue to be on a high level - some 200 assignments during 2004 - following a fourfold increase during the past few years.

To support the growing Asian market a talent pool for the region has been established.