EV Layoffs: Lion Electric Cuts More Jobs Amid Slowing EV Market Growth

Lion Electric Company layoffs will impact roughly 120 employees, or roughly 9% of workers at the electric vehicle (EV) truck and school bus maker.

Additional cost-cutting efforts will involve third-party inventory logistics, lease expenses, consulting, product development and professional fees, Lion Electric said. This is Lion Electric's third round of layoffs since April 2023. And the company's stock is down roughly 45% from January 2024 through April 19, 2024.

Meanwhile, EV makers Tesla and Rivian also announced layoffs in recent days. The job cuts come amid slowing growth in the overall EV market. Indeed, global electric vehicle (EV) sales are expected to grow 21% in 2024 and 19% in 2025, ABI Research predicted. The EV market had grown 31% in 2023 and 60% in 2022, ABI Research also noted.

Lion Electric: Business Performance, CEO Perspectives

Still, Lion Electric doesn't quit fit the traditional EV market definition. The company largely avoids the consumer automobile market, and instead develops heavy duty urban EVs. In its Q4 of 2023, the company reported:

• Revenue of $60.4 million, up from $46.8 million in Q4 2022.
• Delivery of 188 vehicles, compared to 174 delivered in Q4 2022.
• A net loss of $56.5, compared to a net loss of $4.6 million in Q4 2022.

In a prepared statement describing the April 2024 layoffs, Lion Electric CEO Marc Bedard said: "Current market dynamics, notably delays experienced with the Canada's Zero-Emission Transit Fund, continue to adversely impact our school bus deliveries and forced us to further reduce our workforce. We sincerely regret the impact of this decision on our valued employees. It is however crucial to rightsize our workforce to the current environment. We remain confident in our long-term growth and that of our industry and, keeping our focus on our profitability objectives and our production requirements, we will continue to work tirelessly on the execution of our business plan."

Climate Tech, Clean Energy Job Growth

Despite those anecdotal job cuts, demand for green jobs in the United States has grown roughly 50% since 2019, according to Lightcast. Moreover, the U.S. clean energy sector could create roughly 5 million new jobs over the next decade, according the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

In response, companies such as Accenture, EY, Goodwill and Microsoft have launched green jobs training programs.