Good morning! It is Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 and this is The morning shift, your daily roundup of the biggest automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
1st gear: Tesla job cuts are entering their fourth week
Elon Musk is still Hundreds of jobs cut at Tesla. The car manufacturer In the early hours of May 6, another round of layoffs occurred. This means that there have now been such layoffs Layoffs at Tesla for four consecutive weeks. Workers who spoke to Business Insider said they were informed of further cuts to their team on Monday morning. Several also announced on LinkedIn that they were fired. Out of Business Insider:
“After watching my team gradually shrink week by week since mid-April, I received the dreaded ‘Hello Employees’ email this Sunday afternoon,” a Tesla employee wrote on LinkedIn.
Another worker shared a screenshot of her layoff email on LinkedIn, which showed that her last day of work would be May 5th.
[…]
Workers at the automaker previously told Business Insider about the ongoing wave of layoff notices left her nervousMany are looking for opportunities outside the company.
“I keep waiting for Elon to send us another email and tell us they’re finally done laying people off,” said a current Tesla employee who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the terms of his employment speak. “We need some level of closure or a sign that we no longer have to worry about losing our jobs.”
Since Elon Musk first announced on April 14 that Tesla would cut more than 10% of its workforce, workers have continued to receive layoff notices in waves. At the time, Musk said the cuts were due to a “duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas,” according to a screenshot of the April email seen by BI. A few hours after this memo, the company began informing affected employees of the termination. However, some employees did not find out about their roles being eliminated until they found out tried to make a badge into a Tesla facility.
These layoffs met last month a number of different teamsfrom recruiting and marketing to almost everything Tesla’s Supercharger team. This is apparently part of Musk’s plan to “be absolutely tough on headcount.”
Maybe one day we’ll find out How many people should work? at Tesla.
2nd Gear: Lucid had a difficult first quarter
Electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid just released its first quarter earnings report and it’s like this not good as you may have already guessed. The California-based automaker reported a net loss of $685 million in the first quarter but reiterated its production target of 9,000 vehicles for 2024.
$685 million may sound like a lot (because it is), but it’s actually an improvement over the automaker’s first-quarter 2023 net loss of $780 million. It’s the little things. Out of Automotive News:
Revenue in the most recent quarter was $173 million, an improvement from $149 million in the same period last year. Lucid said it ended the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $2.2 billion, compared to $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter last year.
Lucid continued to burn through cash even as sales of its Air sedan improved in the first quarter compared to the same quarter last year.
Clear reported production of 1,728 flights in the period January to March and deliveries of 1,967. Although sales rose 40 percent compared to the first quarter of 2023, generous sales incentives were not enough to boost production, leaving Lucid falling short of its forecast to produce 9,000 vehicles this year.
Following the release of its financial results, Lucid held a conference call with investors and analysts. CEO Peter Rawlinson said on the conference call that a significant portion of the automaker’s current spending was dedicated to preparing future products that would allow it to increase volumes and achieve profitability.
“Size matters,” Rawlinson said in response to an investor’s question about how to make a profit. “The more we scale, the more cars we make, the more volume we can allocate to fixed costs.”
Rawlinson said the path to profitability begins with expanding Lucid Air’s sales, building on 40 percent shipment growth in the first quarter. The next step is the launch of the Gravity crossover, Lucid’s second model, later this year. The third big step is the introduction of a smaller “mid-size” platform that will support a new vehicle in late 2026 that will cost about $48,000 before delivery, he said.
I got a sneak peek at Lucid’s mid-sized plans. It seems like a really nice next chapter the EV start. I just hope it lasts long enough to get there. Luckily for Lucid, that’s the case the support of Saudi Arabia.
3rd Gear: Fisker Shutters Manhattan Beach HQ
In more bad news for EV startupsThat’s certainly how it seems Fisker is in the early stages of conducting business. At least that’s how it looks from the outside. The car manufacturer closes his Manhattan Beach, California Headquarters. Last month, Fisker apparently told employees at that office that they would be moving to the company’s La Palma, Calif., location in early May. Out of Business Insider:
The sources said some workers were told to collect their belongings from the Manhattan Beach office in preparation for the move.
The two facilities are approximately 40 miles apart in California. Fisker started renting its 73,000 square meter headquarters in 2020. The location on La Palma was originally set up as a research and development room.
[…]
The move comes as Fisker faces headwinds from a Slowdown in the electric vehicle industry. The carmaker has warned several times in recent months that it could run out of money within a year and file for bankruptcy.
On April 23, Fisker said in a regulatory filing The company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had only $54 million in cash equivalents as of April 16 and “believes that available liquidity will be insufficient to meet its current obligations.”
Fisker said it is looking for additional financing or a potential buyer. In April, Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker told employees that the company was in discussions with the company four different car manufacturers regarding a possible acquisition.
The company has initiated a series of layoffs in recent months warned the workers on April 29 that they could be laid off and Fisker’s “plant” would close in two months if the automaker couldn’t change course.
Of course, all of this bad news comes right after the reports Magna will stop building Ocean electric crossovers at its factory in Austriaand there are currently no plans to restart production.
4th Gear: UAW members OK strike at the Stellantis plant
United Auto Workers union members at Stellantis’ Warren stamping work In Michigan voted to authorize a strike for a variety of reasons, from non-working fans to bathroom sanitation. From that Detroit Free Press:
The vote to authorize a strike by members of Local 869 does not mean that the more than 1,000 members will go on strike, but it does significantly increase the pressure as the grievance negotiations progress. Warren Stamping supplies several plants in the United States, Canada and Mexico that build the Dodge Durango, Chrysler Pacifica and Ram light and heavy-duty trucks, as well as the Jeep Gladiator, Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.
The union did not disclose the total number of votes and it was not clear Monday how soon the strike might follow.
Stellantis spokeswoman Ann Marie Fortunate issued a company statement Monday evening:
“While members of UAW Local 869 at the Stellantis Warren, Michigan Stamping Plant voted to authorize a strike, discussions between the company and the UAW are ongoing and employees are still at work. Stellantis remains committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment for all employees and resolving this issue without disruption to work.”
A union video posted on social media shows images believed to be from inside the plant showing stagnant fluids and debris on the floor, with workers describing a range of problems, including oil leaks.
“Not only do we want these health and safety concerns resolved, we also want our members to leave the same way they came,” Romaine McKinney III, president of UAW Local 869, said in a press release. “We want members to understand that they are not just a number or a body that is at stake. They will come to work feeling like they have ownership of this building.”
Chautay Smith, a member of Local 869, said in the news release, “We must stand together in this health and safety complaint process because this is our livelihood.” So let’s stand up at Warren Stamping and take care of ourselves the way we are taken care of Need to become.”
Go and get her, Union brothers and sisters. No one should have to deal with unsafe and unsanitary working conditions, especially at a company that generated over $204 billion in 2023.