Arizona electric-vehicle maker Lucid announces plans to lay off nearly 1,300 in Casa Grande

Arizona’s budding electric-vehicle industry is dealing a blow with reports that Lucid Group will lay off about 1,300 workers at its new factory in Casa Grande.

Under the headline “Hard news today,” CEO Peter Rawlinson informed employees of the layoffs in a March 28 letter. This was followed by a posting of layoffs with the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

“Given business needs and productivity improvements, we are reducing the size of our organization by approximately 18%, which will obviously impact employees and contractors,” Rawlinson said. “This action is in line with the cost discipline announcement made in late February, when we reported earnings. We are taking continued steps to manage our costs by reviewing all non-core expenses at this time.”

The luxury automaker, which is headquartered in Newark, California, said it employed about 7,200 people at the end of 2022. For the full year, it reported a loss attributable to common shareholders of $2.56 billion on revenue of $608 million. Lucid produced about 7,200 cars at Casa Grande last year.

Affected employees will receive a severance package that includes Lucid-paid health insurance, access to career resources and other benefits.

Rawlinson’s note said that Lucid’s workforce would see cuts “at nearly every organization and level, including executives.” He added that the layoffs are designed to make the company more flexible and agile, thereby positioning it to be stronger for the long term.

Lucid’s mission remains unchanged, he continued.

“We are committed to a more innovative and environmentally sustainable future – designing, manufacturing and delivering the best EVs on the market as we expand globally and develop more extraordinary vehicles like the Gravity SUV, which we are planning to launch in 2024,” Rawlinson said in his letter. “I am confident that we have the most advanced technology, we have the right operational infrastructure and know-how to deliver, and we have a track record of perseverance that will make us stronger.”

Contact the author at [email protected]

Source: www.bing.com