EV company Lucid to lay off large part of Arizona workforce due to 'productivity improvements'

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. - Nearly a thousand Arizonans will be losing their jobs at Lucid, an electric car manufacturer, the company announced in a letter from its CEO on March 28.

"I announced the difficult decision to reduce our workforce at Lucid. Given evolving business needs and productivity improvements, we are reducing the size of our organization by approximately 18%, which will affect Lucid employees and contractors. This action is aligned with the cost discipline announcement we made in late February when we reported earnings. We are also taking continued steps to manage our costs by reviewing all non-critical spending at this time," CEO, Peter Rawlinson, said, in part.

Arizona Job Connection says 968 employees in Arizona are affected – which makes up part of the 18% mentioned in the CEO's letter.

The employees will be offered a severance package "that includes access to career resources, Lucid-paid healthcare coverage continuation, and acceleration of equity to help as much as possible with the transition."

Departments from all levels of Lucid will see reductions, and that includes some of the top decision makers.

"I know this is not easy as these actions create uncertainty. This week and the weeks ahead will be about processing change as we show empathy for colleagues who are departing and as we come together on our path forward. These decisions are designed to position us to be more resilient and agile, thereby strengthening the company for the long-term," Rawlinson said.