Lucid Motors cuts 12% of workforce in profitability push

Lucid Motors has cut 12% of its workforce in a move the electric vehicle (EV) startup claimed is intended to “improve operational effectiveness” and deliver on commitments to boosting its gross margins. Based on the 6,800 full-time employees Lucid reported at the end of 2024, the reduction likely amounts to some 800 roles. 

Hourly workers in manufacturing, logistics, autonomous driving, engineering and quality will be partially affected by the change. The automaker expanded its manufacturing footprint just last year: in April it acquired Nikola’s assets in Arizona, comprising a manufacturing facility, development centre, and former headquarters. At the time it was indicated that new job offers will be extended to the more than 300 former Nikola workers employed at the facility. Some of these employees will now be let go.

“Saying goodbye to colleagues is never easy,” interim Chief Executive Marc Winterhoff wrote in an internal memo seen by TechCrunch. “We are grateful for the contributions of those impacted by today’s actions, and we are providing severance, bonus, continued health benefits, and transition support to help them through this period.”

The cuts come despite—in relative terms—a strong operational year for Lucid. The EV maker doubled its vehicle production in 2025 to around 18,400 vehicles and grew deliveries 55% to approximately 15,800 units, aided by the first full delivery year for the Gravity SUV. Revenue reached roughly US$1bn. 

Still, the same problems of profitability continued to affect Lucid: it reported a loss of US$978m in the third quarter of 2025 alone and has accumulated total losses of US$14.8bn since its 2007 founding. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Lucid’s largest shareholder, has extended a credit facility to approximately US$2bn to keep it afloat as it steers towards profits.

The automaker has now gone roughly a year without a permanent Chief Executive following the abrupt resignation of Peter Rawlinson in February 2025. The intervening period has seen significant executive turnover, including the departure of its Chief Engineer Eric Bach, who subsequently sued the company for wrongful and discriminatory termination. He was allegedly called a “German Nazi” by HR executive Raphael Rivera. Although Lucid has confirmed the name-calling, it has dismissed the allegations of discrimination as “absurd” and “baseless”.

The company’s next growth phase centres on a midsize platform producing at least three body styles, with a crossover SUV priced around US$50,000 expected to enter production in Saudi Arabia later this year or in early 2027. Winterhoff confirmed in the memo seen by TechCrunch that the layoffs do not change that timeline or Lucoid’s broader strategic priorities.

Lucid is also pursuing a robotaxi partnership with Uber and autonomous vehicle company Nuro, targeting a geofenced service in the San Francisco Bay Area from late 2026. Under the arrangement, Uber made a US$300m strategic investment in Lucid in 2025 and a separate sum into Nuro. The latter’s SAE Level 4 system handles all driving operations, allowing Lucid to avoid the cost of developing full self-driving capability in-house. 

The partnership has committed to deploying 20,000 Gravity vehicles as robotaxis over six years—providing a guaranteed production floor even if consumer sales of the US$80,000-plus Gravity remain constrained. At the same time, the 20,000-vehicle Uber commitment works out to roughly 3,300 units per year—meaningful as a signal of confidence but a fraction of the volumes Lucid needs to reach structural profitability. The upcoming midsize platform remains the automaker’s most critical variable for reaching profitability.