Warwickshire-based LEVC, the Geely-owned manufacturer of the electrified London taxi, has announced 140 job cuts as part of a cost-cutting drive.
The move was announced in a restructuring package detailed today, which, LEVC says, will "lay the foundations for its stainable profitability and growth". LEVC sold 1620 vehicles and posted pre-tax losses of £118 million last year, compared to a £38 million loss in pandemic-blighted 2020.
The firm is aiming to return to "sustainable" profitability following the pandemic, which throttled demand for its TX range-extender taxi, given that the private hire industry was effectively idled during lockdown and social-distancing restrictions. LEVC also cites ongoing supply chain disruption and "global economic challenges" as obstacles to its operations.
Staff at the Ansty factory near Coventry have been made aware today of the job cuts, which will be made on a voluntary redundancy basis. A spokesperson for the brand was unable to clarify which departments will be affected, nor could they say whether the positions will be brought back at any point in the future.
It is unclear what percentage of LEVC's workforce the cuts amount to. The company claims the Ansty site has "helped create more than 1000 new jobs" since opening, including "200 engineers and 30 apprenticeships".
LEVC says the move will help fund the "next crucial phase of its development" and has hinted at an impending announcement on future products and strategy.
The five-year-old LEVC TX and the technically identical LEVC VN5 van remain on sale, with no indication of output being affected by the workforce reduction. The firm celebrated its 7000th sale in May of this year and has since sold another 600 - claiming to have saved 120,000 tonnes of CO2 since launch in 2017.
At full capacity, the Ansty factory is said to be capable of putting out 20,000 vehicles per year.
Alex Nan, who took over as CEO from Joerg Hofmann – now CEO of Ballymena-based Wrightbus – in June, said: "We are exceptionally proud of our world-class products, our home in Ansty and our employees.
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