Lucid Motors’ New CEO Silvio Napoli Imposes Second Round of Sharp Layoffs as EV Demand Falters

Lucid Motors is shedding roughly 1,500 jobs. That amounts to 18 percent of its workforce. The move comes only four months after a 12 percent reduction earlier this year. And it marks the first big operational reset under Silvio Napoli, the former Schindler Group executive who formally took the CEO role on June 1.

The cuts hit full-time employees, contractors and hourly production workers alike. Lucid also eliminated the second shift at its primary factory in Casa Grande, Arizona. Production will now align more closely with what the company expects to sell. These steps, the automaker said, will generate about $158 million in annualized savings. The restructuring should wrap up by the third quarter.

TechCrunch first reported the details, citing an SEC filing that outlined severance costs of roughly $32 million. Marc Winterhoff, who had served as interim CEO before stepping back to chief operating officer, has now left the company entirely. The COO position itself has been eliminated. He will receive severance, continued security support and keep his company vehicle.

But the changes run deeper than one executive transition. Lucid has seen more than a dozen senior leaders depart in the past two years. Founder Peter Rawlinson resigned abruptly in February 2025. Chief engineer Eric Bach was let go late that year and later sued for wrongful termination. Emad Dlala, another longtime executive, stepped down just this month. The pattern points to persistent instability at the top even as the company tries to find its footing.

Napoli brings an unconventional background to the role. He spent his career at the Swiss elevator and escalator maker Schindler, rising to chairman and CEO. His selection in April, backed by fresh capital from Uber and Saudi investors, signaled a desire for disciplined execution over pure engineering ambition. In a company statement, Lucid described the latest actions as an effort to simplify operations, sharpen focus and position the business for long-term competitiveness. Short sentences. Direct language. No embellishment.

The timing reflects broader pressure across the electric-vehicle sector. U.S. demand has cooled. Major automakers have scaled back or canceled electric models. Lucid itself suspended its full-year production forecast after a supplier disruption delayed Gravity SUV deliveries in February, contributing to its largest revenue miss in more than four years, Reuters noted. Shares dipped about 1.5 percent in premarket trading on the news.

At the end of 2025 Lucid employed 9,000 people globally. The February cuts trimmed that base. This round goes further. Eliminating the second shift at the Arizona plant carries particular weight. It acknowledges that current sales cannot support the capacity the company built during more optimistic times. Lucid produced 5,500 vehicles in the first quarter but delivered only 3,093. Inventory had swelled. Demand signals remain mixed at best.

Yet the company insists its product roadmap stays intact. The Lucid Gravity SUV continues to receive software updates, including new hands-free driving features rolled out earlier this month. A lower-priced midsize SUV, referred to internally as Cosmos and targeted below $50,000, is expected to launch later this year. That vehicle is viewed as critical to reaching volume sales and, eventually, profitability. Lucid has also expanded its robotaxi ambitions through partnerships with Uber and Nuro, with test vehicles already delivered and commercial plans targeted for later in 2026.

Electrek highlighted the stakes in its coverage of the layoffs. The engineering pedigree of Lucid’s vehicles, from the Air sedan to the Gravity and the upcoming Atlas drive unit in Cosmos, has rarely been questioned. The Air and Gravity stand out for their range, performance and build quality. Technical achievements abound. The persistent gap lies in demand, cost structure and operational execution. Cutting staff does not automatically create buyers. It can, however, buy time and reduce cash burn while the company bets on Cosmos to change the equation.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund remains the majority owner. Billions have already flowed in to sustain Lucid through periods of slow sales and high spending. That backing provides a buffer that many pure-play EV startups lack. Still, repeated rounds of contraction raise questions about scale. Two significant layoffs in four months, a revolving executive door and a production reset do not project the image of a company poised for rapid growth. They project a business adjusting to a smaller, more realistic operating footprint than the one envisioned at its public debut.

Analysts and investors will watch the Cosmos launch closely. If the vehicle can compete on price and features against the Tesla Model Y, which it was spotted testing alongside near the Arizona factory, the current austerity may look like prudent discipline. If uptake falls short, further adjustments seem likely. Lucid has not commented on whether any robotaxi or software programs face scaling back as part of the restructuring.

The latest moves arrive against a backdrop of cautious production guidance. The company trimmed its 2026 output forecast to between 25,000 and 27,000 vehicles, down from earlier expectations above 33,000. Supply-chain issues in 2025 and softer U.S. demand contributed to the pullback. First-quarter revenue rose 20 percent year over year, yet the overall trajectory remains challenged. Napoli’s mandate centers on execution. The staff reductions and shift elimination represent his opening bid to deliver it.

Wall Street has grown accustomed to volatility in the EV space. Legacy automakers retrench. New entrants scramble for capital and customers. Lucid’s situation stands out because of its premium positioning, substantial Saudi support and repeated leadership turnover. Whether simplification under a manufacturing outsider can translate into sustainable profitability remains an open question. The coming quarters, and the reception of the Cosmos, will offer clearer signals.

Recent coverage from Electrek and Bloomberg reinforces the sense that this represents an extension of ongoing cost discipline rather than a one-off event. The EV maker continues to refine its strategy amid headwinds that show little sign of easing soon. For industry observers, the focus now shifts from headcount to whether the remaining team can deliver the volume vehicle Lucid needs to move beyond survival mode.