Lucid Motors is shedding 1,300 employees to cut back bills

By the tip of this week, 1,300 individuals who work for Lucid Motors could have recognized that they are going to lose their jobs. The luxurious electrical automobile maker has notified (PDF) the US Securities and Alternate Fee in a submitting that it is lowering its present workforce by roughly 18 p.c. Lucid stated it is chopping jobs to cut back working bills “in response to evolving enterprise wants and productiveness enhancements” and that it intends to finish this restructuring plan by the tip of the second quarter this 12 months. 

Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson instructed workers in a memo that the job cuts will have an effect on each workers and contractors. Within the US, practically each division will probably be hit by reductions, and a few executives are even included within the checklist of personnel the corporate is shedding. The EV-maker applied different cost-cutting measures, similar to reviewing its non-critical spending, after saying its 2022 earnings leads to February. However apparently, these measures weren’t sufficient for the corporate to realize its goals. 

Whereas Lucid skilled a pointy improve in income year-over-year — it had solely simply began the Air sedan’s manufacturing in late 2021 — it nonetheless fell in need of analyst forecasts. As well as, though its manufacturing aim (14,000 EVs) for 2023 is double final 12 months’s figures, it is a lot decrease than the 21,000 items specialists had anticipated. As Reuters beforehand reported, worth cuts by Tesla and the supply of reasonably priced EVs from conventional automakers had lessened demand for automobiles from startups like Lucid. Rivian, one other EV startup, is equally affected and introduced that it was going to cut back its workforce by six p.c in February. 

Lucid stated in its submitting that the layoffs will price the corporate $24 million to $30 million, which will probably be spent on severance funds, company-paid medical health insurance and stock-based compensation for the affected employees. Regardless of its cost-cutting measures, Lucid nonetheless intends to develop globally and to proceed creating extra fashions, together with the three-row Gravity electrical SUV that it plans to launch in 2024.