Troubled UK electric van start-up Arrival announced on Thursday that it will scale back its UK operations to instead focus on the US.
The plans mean significant job losses for Arrival staff in the UK, the company said, without giving numbers.
“The result of these proposals is expected to have a sizable impact on the company’s global workforce, predominantly in the UK,” Arrival said in a statement.
It will be the second round of job cuts at the company following its decision to lay off 800 people in July.
The company, which last month built its first van at its Bicester plant, will instead pour its dwindling cash reserves into its US operation, having previously announced it was pausing expansion there.
The main reason for the turnaround is to take advantage of the tax credit announced as part of the US government’s Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, which is expected to be worth between $7500 (£6660) and $40,000 (£35,530) for electric commercial vehicles, the company said. It also pointed to the “large addressable market size, and substantially better margins” offered in the US.
Arrival will restart investment in its factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, which had been mothballed to focus on the Bicester plant. The plant will make “a family of van products”, the firm said.
Meanwhile, Arrival “will continue to produce a small number of vans in Bicester to optimise microfactory processes and support trials with customers,” it said in a statement.
The news will ignite debate in the UK about the level of support for EV companies operating here. It follows the coverage of Mini’s decision to produce its next electric Mini in China rather than Oxford, as well as the financial troubles of UK battery start-up Britishvolt, which is reportedly searching for a buyer.
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