Lucid's Major Restructuring
Lucid Group Cuts 18% US Jobs, Leadership Shifts Amid Cooling EV Market
Anonymous
Key Points
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In its 8-K, Lucid said the restructuring is intended to “advance the Company’s path toward profitability and positive cash flow generation” by streamlining its organization, optimizing operating expenses, and “aligning production plans with anticipated demand,” alongside the U.S. workforce reduction and cancellation of the second shift at AMP-1.
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Reuters reported that earlier this year Lucid suspended its full-year forecast and posted its biggest revenue miss in more than four years, attributing the shortfall in part to a supplier-related issue that disrupted deliveries of the Gravity SUV in February.
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TechCrunch said Marc Winterhoff had served as interim CEO for more than a year before Silvio Napoli took the job—despite prior indications that Winterhoff would continue as chief operating officer after stepping down as interim CEO.
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TechCrunch added that Lucid “declined to comment on whether any of its programs are being mothballed” amid the restructuring, despite the company continuing to pursue EV and autonomous-vehicle efforts.
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TechCrunch linked the layoffs to broader industry moves, saying competition intensified as major automakers pulled electric models from their own product plans while the U.S. EV market cooled.
Lucid Group is cutting roughly 1,500 jobs — about 18% of its U.S. workforce — and removing its chief operating officer as new CEO Silvio Napoli moves to slash costs and push the struggling electric vehicle maker toward profitability. The company said the cuts will save about $158 million per year, though Lucid will absorb around $32 million in one-time cash charges to get there. CNBC reported that COO Marc Winterhoff left the company immediately, and Lucid said it has eliminated the COO role entirely.
The layoffs hit full-time employees, contractors, and hourly production workers on the factory floor — a broader cut than Lucid's earlier rounds. The company is also scrapping the second shift at its AMP-1 plant in Casa Grande, Arizona. It is Lucid's third major workforce reduction since 2023, following an 18% cut in March 2023 and a 12% global reduction in February 2026.
Napoli Takes Charge, Winterhoff's Exit Raises Eyebrows
Silvio Napoli officially became CEO on June 1, 2026, just three weeks before announcing the cuts. He came from Schindler Group, the Swiss elevator company, where he was known for financial discipline. The restructuring is being framed as his first major move to "simplify the company," according to TechCrunch.
Marc Winterhoff's exit is notable. TechCrunch reported that he served as interim CEO for more than a year during the CEO search, with the understanding he would stay on as COO once a permanent chief arrived. That did not last long. Winterhoff had reportedly received a base salary of $1 million and a $2 million cash bonus as part of a retention package — then lost his job within weeks of stepping down from the interim role.
Factory Pullback Signals Lower Production Ambitions
Canceling the second shift at AMP-1 is a significant retreat. Lucid added that shift in October 2025 specifically to support the ramp-up of the Gravity SUV. Now it is gone. The company previously guided for 25,000 to 27,000 vehicles in 2026 — that guidance has since been withdrawn, according to the live research briefing.
Lucid's 8-K filing said the moves are meant to "align production plans with anticipated demand." In plain terms: the company does not expect to sell enough cars to justify two shifts. Reuters reported that Lucid suspended its full-year forecast earlier this year after posting its biggest revenue miss in four years, partly due to a supplier problem that disrupted Gravity SUV deliveries in February.
A Cooling EV Market Squeezes Lucid From All Sides
The broader EV market has turned hostile. TechCrunch tied the layoffs to a wider industry pullback, noting that major automakers have dropped electric models from their own plans as U.S. consumer demand cools. Lucid sells luxury EVs that start above $70,000 — a segment that has reached saturation while buyers push for lower price points.
The financial picture is stark. Lucid reported a $2.7 billion net loss for 2025, with free cash flow at negative $3.8 billion. CFO Taoufiq Boussaid said the company holds $4.6 billion in total liquidity, which funds operations into the first half of 2027. That gives Lucid roughly 15 months to prove the restructuring works. Its market cap has fallen to about $2.05 billion — down 75% over the past year, according to GuruFocus.
Robotaxi Bet and Gravity SUV Are the Last Big Chips
Even as it cuts, Lucid is pressing forward on two fronts. The Gravity SUV — its first mass-market vehicle — is still set to launch later this year. And Lucid is pushing into autonomous vehicles through a robotaxi partnership with Uber and Nuro, with testing already underway in the San Francisco Bay Area and Houston named as a second deployment city for 2027.
The robotaxi bet matters because Lucid's core EV manufacturing business carries deeply negative margins. Analysts at GuruFocus have raised concerns about whether $158 million in annual savings is enough against billions in yearly losses. TechCrunch noted that Lucid "declined to comment on whether any of its programs are being mothballed" — leaving the full scope of the cuts unclear.
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