Luxury EV trailblazer brand Lucid is set to chop off 18% of its US workers, says its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.). Most of the impact would be absorbed by its AMP-1 factory in Arizona, with everyone from full time workers to hourly- manufacturing workers job line to to face the axe. But the first one to be dropped would be the position of Chief operating officer (COO)
As a result, Marc Winterhoff has left the company. Winterhoff had served as Lucid’s interim CEO earlier in 2025 before returning to the COO role when a new CEO was appointed. Even though the COO role has been eliminated, Winterhoff will not leave without compensation. Lucid said he will receive a severance package. The company also agreed to continue providing certain security support. Winterhoff will also be allowed to keep his company vehicle, as per the SEC filing
Why Lucid is cutting jobs
Lucid said the restructuring is aimed at making the company simpler and more efficient, according to a company spokesperson who spoke to Business Insider. The company said these were difficult decisions but were necessary to match production with customer demand. Lucid also wants to reduce excess inventory and respond to weaker market conditions. The company said the broader goal is to improve execution and become more competitive over time.
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Lucid expects the layoffs and restructuring to generate around $158 million in annual cost savings. The company will also remove the second production shift at its Arizona factory. Lucid said this change is being made to align production plans with expected customer demand, according to the filing.
This is not the first workforce reduction at Lucid. The company had already cut about 12% of its U.S. workforce in February 2026, according to the Business Insider report.
New CEO takes charge
Lucid has experienced major leadership changes over the last year and a half. Former CEO Peter Rawlinson unexpectedly resigned in February 2025. After Rawlinson’s departure, Winterhoff served as interim CEO. Several senior executives have also left the company in recent months.
On June 1, Lucid officially appointed Silvio Napoli as its permanent CEO. Napoli previously led The Schindler Group, an elevator manufacturing company.
Big challenges ahead for Lucid
As Lucid is still trying to figure out the mass market model, with one of its cheaper SUVs slated to be launched later this year at something lower than $50,000, Napoli has taken over its planing, says Business Insider. Lucid hopes the new SUV will compete with the Tesla Model Y and Rivian R2. The company is also pursuing robotaxi plans through partnerships with Uber and Nuro.
Its gravity SUV had earlier faced some supply chain crunch as its deliveries got hampered. Its software systems were also no walk-in-the- park, with many consumers complaining about it. Though most of these issues were ridden out by Lucid, with its state of the art engineering lapping up praise—one among them the its energy efficient EV Sedan Lucid Air.
