Bay Area maker of EVs Lucid set to cut more jobs
Lucid Motors, a Menlo Park startup specializing in luxury electric cars, has unveiled a restructuring plan that involves slashing 400 positions.
The company disclosed in regulatory filings that the layoffs will affect about 6% of its workforce by the end of the third quarter. CEO Peter Rawlinson, formerly Tesla’s chief engineer for the Model S electric sedan, conveyed in a staff email that the layoffs would impact employees across various levels, including leadership and mid-level management.
“Letting go of our talented team members is difficult and a decision we did not take lightly,” he wrote in the message attached to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, on Friday. “We are thankful to everyone who has helped Lucid at every step of our journey.”
Rawlinson said that the affected employees would receive severance and health benefits along with assistance in their job search.
Although most job cuts will affect Lucid’s Bay Area employees, they will also extend to its $700 million manufacturing plant in Arizona. Despite the layoffs, Rawlinson expressed enthusiasm about the Gravity SUV program, slated to begin production by the end of 2024, and Lucid’s midsize program by late 2026.
“I’m confident Lucid will deliver the world’s best SUV and dramatically expand our total addressable market, but we aren’t generating revenue from the program yet,” Rawlinson wrote. “As always we must remain vigilant about costs. We are optimizing our resources in a way we believe will best position the company for future success and growth opportunities as we focus on achieving our ambitious goals.”
This recent round of cuts follows severe costcutting measures in March 2023, which included laying off 1,300 employees.
Despite the setback, Lucid Motors secured a $3 billion infusion from its primary financial supporter, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Earlier this year, Lucid raised an additional $1 billion through a stock sale to a subsidiary of the fund, bolstering the company’s financial stability.
Lucid anticipates manufacturing approximately 9,000 vehicles this year, comparable to the 8,428 units produced in 2023.