It has been confirmed that up to 200 UK-based roles at Lotus might be lost as part of a restructuring effort to deal with falling demand. While the Evija hypercar project remains in progress for now, as does production of the Emira (and hopefully continuing development of an EV sports car), an official statement has suggested that the focus going forward will be on “fulfilling our order book”. Presumably as opposed to making loads more cars, hence a reduced need for people.
That statement reported: “The latest proposed organisational changes at Lotus Cars are to ensure that the company has the right organisation structure in place to ensure sustainable operations. Following a review of resources in line with market demand and evolving market conditions, the company is optimising its internal processes and structures to achieve its long-term business objectives.” Which seems like a roundabout way of saying that not enough cars are being sold to justify the current level of staff.
That being said, the stated aim is for people to be redeployed ‘wherever possible’ to retain expertise within Lotus. ‘We believe this is vital to ensuring the organisation is leaner and more competitive in today’s market’, the statement added. Simon Lane, who was Executive Director of Advanced Performance – Lotus’s division for halo products and special editions – has recently left the company, taking up a new role as the UK RML Group Agent to market the P39. We’ve not heard of any other changes as yet.
The short statement concluded by saying that Lotus remains ‘fully committed to the UK as the heart of our sports car operations’. The firm would likely argue that a leaner operation is a nimbler one, able to deliver the Lotus sports cars we know and love while Wuhan makes the more luxurious stuff. Additionally – while it’s not a situation anyone would wish to see Lotus in – there are some very good deals around on new cars right now, including both Emira variants at zero per cent APR – an AMG-engined model is less than £800 a month with a £6,758 deposit. And there’s little to stir up interest in a new car like having to pay no interest to get in one…