Lucid Motors, which is struggling with quality problems and logistical obstacles to increase production volume, has forced six executives in the production department to retire all at once.
As electric vehicle (EV) start-ups compete fiercely to increase production volume, Lucid Motors, which is considered one of the most promising stocks in the United States, has adopted it as a strong candidate to strengthen production. Six executives left the company in just a few weeks.
It became clear from interviews with multiple current and former employees of Lucid.
The retired executives include vice president Peter Hoeholdinger, a long-time Audi executive and former executive at Tesla..
Lucid is under pressure to fully operate its Casa Grande, Arizona production base in order to achieve its production volume target. It was decided to remove Holdinger from global production.
All six executives who left the company were involved in ramping up production processes, according to several current and former employees who spoke to Insider on condition of anonymity.
Opinions vary depending on the people concerned about how this collective withdrawal from the front will affect Lucid’s management in the future.
If new people and ideas flow in instead, it may lead to a breakthrough in the situation, but it cannot be denied that the situation may actually worsen due to confusion caused by personnel reforms.
A spokesperson for Lucid did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
6 retired executives
- Peter Hoeholdinger: Vice President (Global Production) *Formerly Audi Tesla
- Ralph Jacobs: Vice President (in charge of production planning) *From Volkswagen
- Mike Boyke: Arizona Operations Manager *From General Motors
- David Peel: Responsible for new product development/introduction and production planning management *From Nissan
- Chris Barber: Senior Manager (Logistics Engineering) *Formerly Fiat Chrysler
- Keith Champion: Director (Operational Excellence) *Formerly Tesla
I was able to confirm the fact that I was leaving the company by directly interviewing Champion, but I could not get any particular comments.
Peele has already moved to EV and fuel cell (FC) truck startup Nikola, according to a LinkedIn listing.
Jakobs (which has since been removed from the management team page on Lucid’s official website), Hocholdinger (which is still on the management team page), Bouke and Barber did not respond to requests for comment.
Insider’s independent review of Lucid’s employee emails shows that Boike and Hocholdinger have left the company.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson revealed at the second quarter (April-June) financial results briefing mentioned above that production targets could not be achieved, citing “due to logistics constraints ( We were unable to raise production volume (necessary to achieve the target).”
In the first half of 2022 (January to June), 1,405 units were produced and 1,039 units were delivered, far short of the initial annual production target of 20,000 units. The company has already lowered its production forecast twice and currently plans to produce 6,000 to 7,000 units.
The second quarter “exposed the immaturity of the logistics process,” said Rawlinson, CEO of the company. The company has announced plans to relocate to the factory premises.
A current employee who responded to the interview in August said that in a series of reforms, “The flow of energy in the company has changed completely.” he said.
In addition, several other active employees said, “Wouldn’t the flow of production improve with the executive change?“A full-scale review like this personnel reform was necessary anyway.” he said.
[Original: Lucid has lost 6 high-level manufacturing execs in a few weeks as it struggles to ramp up production and overhaul its logistics playbook]
(Translation and editing: Chikara Kawamura)
Source: BusinessInsider
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