BusinessJun 22, 2026
Lucid Slashes Jobs Again as New CEO Races to Revive EV Maker
Corporate Turnaround
Rhea Lobo
Discover
Lucid Motors is cutting roughly 18% of its US workforce, just four months after slashing 12% of staff in February.
New CEO Silvio Napoli, who took the top job on June 1, is driving the move to simplify the company and sharpen execution.
Chief Operating Officer Marc Winterhoff, who served as interim CEO for over a year before Napoli arrived, has left the company effective immediately. Lucid has eliminated the COO role entirely rather than backfill it.
Winterhoff will receive severance, security support, and gets to keep his company vehicle, per a regulatory filing.
"These are difficult decisions taken to align production with demand, reduce inventory, and adapt to declining market conditions," a Lucid spokesperson said.
The restructuring is expected to generate roughly $158M in annualized savings and cost the company approximately $32M in cash charges, mostly severance and benefits. Lucid expects the process to wrap up by the end of Q3.
Lucid reported 9,000 employees globally as of Dec. 31, 2025, before the February round. The company lost $2.7B on $1.35B in revenue in 2025 and had negative free cash flow of $3.8B last year.
The stock fell on the news and is down over 50% in 2026. Rivals Rivian and Tesla have fallen 20% and 9%, respectively, over the same period.
Lucid suspended its full-year production guidance of 25,000 to 27,000 vehicles earlier this year. First-quarter deliveries were flat year-over-year, though revenue rose 20% for the period.
The company also raised capital recently through a $550M injection from entities tied to the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which owns Lucid. That dilution has added to investor frustration.
Executive turnover has been relentless. Longtime CEO Peter Rawlinson resigned in Feb. 2025. Chief Engineer Eric Bach was let go in late 2025 and filed a wrongful termination lawsuit. More than a dozen senior leaders have departed over the past two years.
Lucid is still pushing forward on two near-term bets: the Cosmos SUV, a mass-market vehicle expected to launch later this year starting under $50K, and a luxury robotaxi service with Uber and Nuro slated to debut in San Francisco. Whether Napoli's restructuring gives those programs enough runway remains the central question for investors watching the stock.
