Lucid Motors says its restructuring effort has reduced cash consumption by $1.4 billion this year, but employees remain uncertain about job security as the automaker continues cutting costs and delays production of its more affordable Cosmos crossover.
Lucid Says Restructuring Work Is Complete
It has been a difficult year for Lucid Motors, marked by two significant rounds of staff cuts, continuing losses, a recall involving cars catching fire and a delay in production of the midsize battery-electric Cosmos crossover that was supposed to help the company.
Lucid’s stock price has fallen from $10 to about $4 a share over the past six months, down from $25 a year ago.
This week, Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli told Bloomberg that the automaker’s work with restructuring consultant AlixPartners is complete. According to Napoli, the consultancy helped Lucid “reduce cash consumption this year by $1.4 billion.”
Bankruptcy Was Not Discussed
Bankruptcy did not come up during the six-minute Bloomberg interview, even though AlixPartners has guided many major companies through high-profile bankruptcy cases.
Napoli has adamantly denied bankruptcy in recent months, and based on those statements, that level of court-supervised restructuring appears to be off the table for now.
Lucid and Bolt Plan Autonomous Vehicle Partnership
Lucid also announced a partnership this week with European ride-share platform Bolt to deploy at least 25,000 autonomous Lucid vehicles across major European cities.
The self-driving shuttles will come from Lucid’s upcoming midsize platform, which is set to be built at a new plant in Saudi Arabia next year alongside the Cosmos. Bolt plans to have 100,000 autonomous vehicles on its platform by 2035.
Employees Remain Uncertain About Job Security
While Napoli has been conducting upbeat media interviews and discussing opportunities to supply robotaxis, some employees who have remained at Lucid say job security continues to be difficult to find.
A total of 2,400 positions have been eliminated so far this year. One Lucid employee, speaking anonymously to CarBuzz, described the new Bolt relationship this way:
“It’s a company that is financially struggling and has never made a profit, engaged with another company that is struggling and has never made a profit, to introduce a self-driving taxi that hasn’t yet, you know, entered the market.”
If the announcement had included an equity exchange between Lucid and Bolt, the employee suggested, the reaction within Lucid might have been more positive. For now, the relationship appears to be strategic only.
Another employee said job security remains elusive at a company that lost $7 billion over the past two years.
Employees Are Leaving Through Attrition
“There may be some people who feel secure, but I don’t know many of them,” the employee told CarBuzz, adding that headcount reduction is still occurring through natural attrition.
“The number of people who are quitting here, just based on what you see on LinkedIn every week, you see a lot of key people departing and going to greener pastures. I think it becomes increasingly difficult for the remaining people to take on all the extra tasks and all the extra work that still remains.”
Still, one employee pointed to “very special circumstances where organizations within the company” have posted new jobs for hire.
The newly established Lucid Technologies unit will lead the partnership with Bolt and is dedicated to commercializing Lucid’s artificial intelligence, autonomy and advanced driver-assistance systems.
Lucid Gravity Robotaxis Are Being Tested
Lucid employees are also working on autonomous versions of the Lucid Gravity SUVs being tested as Uber and Nuro robotaxis.
“What they’re trying to do is pretty monumental,” one employee said. “They are here. They are driving around. They are real. But the amount of work being done by this sort of skeleton crew is really interesting.”
Cosmos Production Delayed Until Late 2027
Production of the Cosmos has been pushed back to late 2027. One employee told CarBuzz that dozens of camouflaged prototypes are now being driven in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The employee said the Cosmos was most impressive during a static interaction with the vehicle and highlighted its innovative features.
“It has a lot of innovative features,” the employee said. “But there’s always the question of, how will it be priced? Are there enough dealerships? Is there going to be an economic crisis in the United States that slows down consumer spending habits?”
The employee also expressed hope that CEO Napoli can secure additional funding so Lucid can get the Cosmos into consumers’ hands.
For now, Lucid Motors is moving forward with its cost-reduction efforts and Bolt partnership while employees continue to face uncertainty and the Cosmos remains scheduled for production in late 2027.
