Lotus to axe up to 270 UK jobs amid "volatile market conditions"

Lotus will cut up to 270 job cuts in the UK as it reacts to "volatile and evolving market conditions including the US tariffs". The firm sent a statement to Autocar which said it was "committed to the UK" but "the proposed restructuring is vital to enhance our competitiveness in today's market". Lotus's UK-built cars, the Emira coupé and Evija hypercar, are now subject to a 25% import fee in the US, under president Donald Trump's new tariff structure. Earlier this week, Lotus halted shipments of the Emira to the US in response, and now cites the tariffs as a factor in its restructuring. The company told Autocar that the cuts specifically impact the Lotus Cars sports car factory in Hethel, near Norwich. The Lotus Advanced Structures factory at Norwich Airport, the Lotus Advanced Technology R&D site in Warwick and the Group Lotus commercial headquarters in London are unaffected. These latest cuts come just six months after the car maker announced it would make up to 200 of its staff redundant in a bid to "ensure sustainable operations" - a review that it said was "in line with market demand and evolving market conditions". The statement said: "Lotus Cars has announced a proposed business restructure to ensure sustainable operations, amid volatile and evolving market conditions including the US tariffs and shifting consumer demand for sports cars. "The company plans to increase synergies across the wider Lotus brand and with its largest shareholder and technology partner, Geely Holding Group. It will look at greater resource sharing and collaboration in technology, engineering, and operations." According to LinkedIn, Lotus currently employs around 1200 people in the UK. It has not said how it might "increase synergies" with its parent company, but Geely has other retail, manufacturing and development operations in the UK through its ownership of Volvo, LEVC and Polestar. Lotus's European boss Dan Balmer recently told Autocar that Lotus's Hethel headquarters remained "a very important part of our business, and will continue to be so as well." “Having that as our sports car base is important,” he added, citing the importance of having an FIA-approved test track at the site, and “all the heritage that goes with that." Wuhan-based Lotus Technology, which builds the brand's Emeya and Eletre SUVs in China, last year announced that it was dramatically lowering its global sales objectives in light of the imposition of a 100% import tariff on Chinese-built electric cars in the US, then its largest market. It was also forced to double the price of the Eletre to more than $220,000 (£170,000) to maintain profitability, compared to a price in the UK of less than £100,000. As of 10 April, the US's import duty on Chinese EVs has been raised to 145% - a figure that was hurriedly reduced from 185% as Trump acknowledged there was some "transition difficulty" as global markets reacted to his swingeing new tariffs - the most severe of which were imposed on China. Lotus Technology has not announced any plans to restructure or restrict output in Wuhan.

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Lotus to axe up to 270 UK jobs amid "volatile market conditions"

Firm announces another round of UK job cuts in a bid to "enhance competitiveness" in challenging environment

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Lotus to axe up to 270 UK jobs amid "volatile market conditions"

Firm announces another round of UK job cuts in a bid to "enhance competitiveness" in challenging environment

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