Just three months ago, Lucid Motors showed off a new midsize electric vehicle platform and talked about a lineup of new models coming soon. The Saudi-backed startup is selling its Gravity SUV alongside the improved Air sedan and says profitability lies with smaller, cheaper models in higher volumes.
Things aren’t going great. Today Lucid is laying off approximately 1,500 workers — 18 percent of its workforce.
This isn’t even the first round this year. In February, Lucid let go of 12 percent of its workforce. Now they’re cutting another 18 percent on top of that.
In an SEC filing, Lucid said the layoffs were “designed to advance the Company’s path toward profitability and positive cash flow generation by streamlining its organizational structure, optimizing operating expenses, and aligning production plans with anticipated demand.” Corporate speak for: we’re burning too much cash.
The company is also ending the second shift at its factory in Casa Grande, Arizona. Together, the measures will save $158 million, though not before paying out $32 million in severance and transition costs.
Among those getting severance is Marc Winterhoff, Lucid’s COO and previously acting CEO. He took the helm in February after Peter Rawlinson abruptly stepped down. Lucid named a new CEO — Silvio Napoli — in April, and now the COO role is being eliminated entirely.
It’s a rough time to work at Lucid. The company still hasn’t turned a profit, and the layoffs suggest the path there is longer than they’d hoped.
