Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Lucid Motors, the luxury electric vehicle startup, is cutting its workforce as part of a restructuring and cost reduction plan, according to what former employees told EV. Some of the teams affected include vehicle engineering, IT, Human Resources, Powertrain, and Manufacturing.
In a statement, Lucid stated that will see “productivity improvements through a reduction of the Company’s current employee workforce by approximately 400 employees, or approximately 6%”.
The company added that it expects to “substantially complete the Plan by the end of the third quarter of 2024”.
Lucid estimates that it will “incur a total of approximately $21 million to $25 million in charges in connection with the Plan, which consist primarily of charges related to severance payments, employee benefits, employee transition, and stock-based compensation,” the company stated.
Below is the memo sent by the CEO Peter Rawlinson to the US-based teams.
The previous layoff, done in March last year, affected 1,300 employees including executive positions.
Earlier this month, Lucid cautioned that its liquidity could only cover investments for the next 12 months. In an updated presentation following its first-quarter financial results, the startup reiterated its annual production guidance of 9,000 vehicles but warned investors that its cash reserves, cash equivalents, and investments are projected to last only until the second quarter of next year.
This guidance has raised concerns among investors about the potential need for further capital investment, coming just a few months after securing $1 billion from Saudi Arabia’s Private Fund.
In the first quarter of the year, the EV maker produced 1,728 units of its Air luxury sedan with deliveries reaching 1,967 vehicles, an increase of 39.9 percent compared to the same period of last year.
The California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS), one of the world’s largest pension plans, has reduced its stake in the EV startup Lucid Motors by 32 percent, according to a recent form filed.
In the previous form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), CalSTRS reported holding 1,329,234 shares, resulting in a sale of more than 427 thousand shares during the first quarter of the year.
This adjustment in shares comes amid broader institutional interest in Lucid Group, Inc., which boasts 743 institutional shareholders that collectively hold a total of 1,667,119,115 shares in the company.
Among the largest shareholders of Lucid are major investment firms including the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Vanguard Group, and BlackRock. Other significant holders include Morgan Stanley, Geode Capital Management, and Millennium Management.
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In a recent interview at the Financial Times Car Summit, Lucid CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson said the company will not focus on developing an affordable model but on energy density technology instead.
Commenting on the development of the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) technology, Lucid CEO predicts that the prices will continue to decrease over the next years.
“And the way that particularly LFP [battery tech] is going, that pack [could cost] under $3,000, maybe closer to $2,000 in a few years’ time. That is the enabler for the $20,000 car for the mass market,” he added.
Later in the interview, the chief executive said manufacturers from China are “many years behind Tesla” despite admitting “they’re a lot better than they’ve been”.
Lucid CEO admitted that Chinese OEMs have been improving a lot over the last years while expecting a second wave of improvement as the focus shifts to powertrain technology.
During the first quarter, the electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid delivered 1,967 vehicles, a nearly 40 percent growth compared to the first three months of last year. In the conference call that followed the earnings release, CEO Peter Rawlinson disclosed that over 500 of them were delivered to Saudi Arabia.
Lucid has reiterated its annual production guidance of 9,000 vehicles for 2024 despite warning investors that its cash reserves, cash equivalents, and investments are projected to last until the second quarter of next year.
The CEO Peter Rawlinson announced that the company’s midsize model will enter production in late 2026, with a price expected to be around $48,000.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
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