Lotus set to cut up to 200 jobs after heavy losses

Lotus invested £100m in its base, near Wymondham, in 2021

Lotus Cars is set to cut up to 200 jobs from its workforce after the company posted heavy losses.

The Norfolk-based firm's recent accounts show it made a loss before tax of £145.1m in 2022, versus a deficit of £86.6m in the previous year.

Lotus said it would cut back its workforce to "ensure that the right organisational structure is in place".

The company said the move "includes a restructure of its workforce, which may involve the loss of up to 200 jobs".

It added: "Wherever possible, we will look to support the redeployment of staff and plan to look for ways to retain specific skills and knowledge within the business, despite the proposed cuts.

"We believe this is vital to ensuring the organisation is leaner and more competitive long-term."

It has not yet specified where the job cuts will take place.

In 2021, it said it was investing £100m in its base at Hethel near Wymondham, with 250 news jobs created there and at Lotus Engineering in Warwickshire.

Lotus, which is owned by the Chinese firm Geely, also saw sales of its cars fall to just 576 vehicles during 2022, contrasting the 1,566 vehicles it sold in 2021.

This was despite the introduction of the Emira sports car - its first new model in more than a decade.

However, Lotus has been in the process of introducing a variety of new models, including the electric Eletre SUV - being built in Wuhan, China - which appears to be core to the firm's electrification journey.

Lotus said it would focus its efforts on the "production of the Emira sports car and Evija hypercar, with 2023 set to be a record year for vehicle production, before we turn our attention to our future EV sports cars".