Just three months ago, Lucid Motors showed off a new midsize electric vehicle platform that it said would give rise to a number of new vehicles in the coming years. The Saudi-backed startup is now selling its Gravity SUV alongside the ever-improved Air sedan and plans to reach profitability with smaller and cheaper models sold in higher volumes. But things are far from rosy at Lucid; today, the automaker is laying off approximately 1,500 workers—18 percent of its workforce.
These aren’t the first layoffs of the year, either; In February, Lucid let go of 12 percent of its workforce.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lucid wrote that 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.”
Lucid is also ending the second shift at its factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, and says that together, the measures will save it $158 million, albeit after paying out $32 million in “severance, employee benefits, and employee transition.”
Among those receiving severance will be Marc Winterhoff, Lucid’s COO and previously acting CEO, who took the helm in February after the original CEO, Peter Rawlinson, abruptly stepped down. Lucid named a new CEO—Silvio Napoli—in April, and with Winterhoff’s departure, the company is eliminating the COO role altogether.
