Lion Electric, the company whose electric trucks and school buses are popular in the US and Canada, is looking at streamlining operations and aligning costs with demand. As part of its endeavour to save about $25 million annually, the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer is letting go 300 employees across the US and Canada, that is, 30 per cent of its workforce.
Last year, the firm had trimmed its workforce by 10 per cent. The objective is to improve liquidity and progress faster towards profitability.
Additionally, the company will also reduce production, considering the low demand for electric trucks. It will embrace a batch-size manufacturing model, that is, produce the vehicles only on receipt of order.
It is also planning to sell its batteries to third parties.
The EV manufacturer has seen a fall in demand for electric trucks, while the demand for electric school buses is rising.
As per its financial results for the second quarter of 2024, Lion Electric posted only $30.3 million in revenue, which was 27.7 million dollars less than what it has posted for the same period in 2023. The firm attributes this drop to poor sales and increasing costs of manufacturing. Its sales dropped by 12.1 million dollars year-on-year to $45.5 million in the second quarter of 2024.
In India, Bengaluru-based electric two-wheeler manufacturer, Ola Electric had announced plans in June 2024, to reduce its workforce by 400-500 as it prepared for its initial public offering (IPO). Clearly, the transition to electric vehicles has not happened at the pace that was initially expected, worldwide.
