Feb 20 (Reuters) – Lucid has laid off 12% of its U.S. workforce, the company said on Friday, as it seeks to boost profitability amid softening demand for higher-priced electric vehicles.
“We are streamlining our organization so we can operate with greater efficiency and deliver on our commitments to gross margin improvement and long-term growth,” CEO Marc Winterhoff said in a memo seen by Reuters.
The cuts will not impact hourly production employees at its manufacturing facility in Arizona, a company spokesperson said in a statement. It did not provide details about the number of people impacted.
Lucid had about 6,800 full-time employees globally as of 2024, according to its regulatory filing.
The company rolled out discounts and promotional offers on its luxury Air sedans last year to appeal to consumers scaling back big-ticket purchases due to high borrowing costs.
In November, it launched the Gravity Touring SUV with a starting price of $79,900, significantly below the six-figure price tags that have defined much of its lineup.
Lucid delivered a record 5,345 vehicles in the fourth quarter, as a good reception for the cheaper Gravity SUV helped it offset weaker demand due to the expiry of U.S. tax credits.
The company had said last year it would launch a midsize electric SUV in 2026.
Lucid is focusing on the start of production of its midsize platform, the development of its advanced driver-assistance system and software, as well as on growing sales of its Air sedan and Gravity SUV, the company spokesperson said.
TechCrunch first reported the development earlier in the day.
Newark, California-based Lucid is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results on February 24.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; additional reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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