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Paris attacks ramp up Sweden security hires

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Paris attacks ramp up Sweden security hires
Securitas CEO Alf Göransson. Photo: Fredrik Persson/SCANPIX

A Swedish security services company is stepping up recruitment in Europe in the wake of the Paris attacks and Sweden's raised terror threat level, its director general has said.

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Securitas boss Alf Göransson told Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri that the firm had taken on 800 extra staff in France and 300 more in Belgium since last week's attacks.

"We have in principle mobilized all the security staff we have available in the Paris region – but we are looking at seeing if we can take some from other regions in France," he said.

He added the group, which is Europe's biggest security company, had "some 20,000 staff" in France, having brought in "800 over the past few days which are really important reinforcements".

January's attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper offices in Paris had already seen Securitas step up its activities in France – but "this time clearly more so", said Göransson.

THE LOCAL FRANCE: All the latest on the Paris attacks

The group is also looking to expand numbers in Sweden, which raised its terrorist threat status to the highest level in history (four on a scale from one to five, where four is "high" and five is "very high").

"We have taken on 210 people through September and October and expect to find another 500 next year to respond to demand," Göransson said regarding Swedish recruitment.

Securitas, whose share price has risen by close to 10 percent this week by Thursday morning, recently estimated its sales of technology-based surveillance services will rise this year by 28 percent.

READ ALSO: Why Sweden's terror threat is a game changer

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