Electric Vehicle Startup Nio Cuts 141 Jobs at San Jose Headquarters
Nio lays off 141 employees at its North American headquarters as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures following a difficult year of losses and vehicle recalls.
Electric vehicle startup Nio cuts 141 jobs at its North American headquarters in San Jose, according to a recent California state filing. These employees receive notice on December 6, marking another round of reductions for the Shanghai-based company. The layoffs come as part of a broader effort to manage expenses during a challenging financial period.
The workforce reduction follows a particularly turbulent year for Nio, which includes a massive recall of 5,000 ES8 electric SUVs due to battery fires in China. These safety issues negatively impact the company's production and delivery numbers. Additionally, Nio reports significant financial losses in the first two quarters of the year and experiences a steep 78 percent drop in its share price since February.
Despite these setbacks, Nio recently secures a promising partnership with Intel's Mobileye to develop autonomous vehicles for consumers. Under this agreement, Nio engineers and manufactures a self-driving system designed by Mobileye. CEO William Li announces in September that the company plans to shrink its global workforce from 9,900 to 7,800 people by the end of the third quarter to implement necessary cost-cutting measures.