Lucid Group Inc (NASDAQ:LCID), the electric vehicle (EV) rival to Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), has said it plans to cut 1,300 jobs as part of larger restructuring efforts to reduce costs.
In a regulatory filing cited in a CNBC report, the EV manufacturer said it is cutting 18% of its workforce, which will incur a one-time cost of between $24mln and $30mln, most of which has been recognised in the first quarter of 2023.
Lucid chief executive Peter Rawlinson, who previously worked for Tesla, said in a letter to employees that the job cuts will hit “nearly every organisation and level, including executives,” and that affected employees will be notified by the end of the week.
Lucid ended last year with US$4.4bn in cash, which CFO Sherry House had said was enough to last until the end of the first quarter of next year.
However, there have been signs that demand for its Air vehicle has fallen short of expectations, and the company may be struggling to convert early reservations to sold orders.
Currently, it has more than 28,000 reservations for Air, but caveated this with plans to build between 10,000 and 14,000 vehicles this year, nearly half Wall Street’s expectations.