Published 2026-11-02 · Event 2026-11-02 · The editorial team

SvD: poor conditions reported at Microsoft's data-centre construction site in Gävle

According to Svenska Dagbladet, Romanian workers at Microsoft's data-centre construction site in Gävle describe poor conditions, including crowded staff housing, broken ventilation, cold and a case of active tuberculosis.

According to Svenska Dagbladet on 2 November 2026, citing the journalism network Investigate Europe, Romanian workers at Microsoft's data-centre construction site in Gävle describe poor conditions.

SvD reports that 24 people share one kitchen and 14 share one bathroom in the staff housing, and that the workers describe broken ventilation and cold.

One worker fell ill with active tuberculosis and another has tested positive for latent tuberculosis, according to SvD.

SvD writes that pay slips from the site show working weeks of up to 60 hours without overtime pay, and that the union claims some workers earned 30 percent less than Swedish colleagues.

According to SvD, the subcontractor Benbau is now to pay SEK 15 million in unpaid wages and damages, and a new collective agreement gives SEK 260 an hour. Microsoft says it sets requirements for its suppliers, SvD reports, adding that it can be hard to get an overview when 148 companies are part of the contractor chain.

Why it matters

It concerns working and housing conditions in the contractor chain building one of Microsoft's Sweden-region sites.

What remains unknown

The openly available SvD text does not give the number of workers affected or say which other companies in the contractor chain are involved.

Sources