Rumors swirling online about a fresh round of layoffs have been debunked by the company itself. This comes after a wave of job cuts hit the electric vehicle (EV) industry recently.
Back in November, NIO faced “fierce competition” and had to make some tough decisions. According to a memo obtained by Bloomberg, they trimmed their workforce by 10%. This meant eliminating roles that were either redundant or not very efficient. NIO also put some projects on hold (or scrapped them entirely) if they weren’t expected to turn a profit within the next three years.
NIO’s CEO, William Li, acknowledged the difficulty of the situation, calling it a “tough but necessary decision.” He compared their journey to a challenging marathon, but on a muddy track – no easy feat! These cuts came after major EV players like Tesla and BYD started aggressively slashing prices throughout the year. NIO even had to cut their own prices by up to $4,200 in June to stay competitive.
On a brighter note, NIO just opened orders for their new ET7 this week. This means all their current models now utilize the company’s updated NT 2.0 platform. So, while the broader EV industry might be experiencing some job market bumps, NIO seems to be focused on moving forward with new technology and reassuring its workforce.
NIO Says No More Layoffs
It’s true that competition in the electric vehicle (EV) market is heating up, and rising interest rates aren’t making things any easier for carmakers. Several companies have announced workforce reductions or cutbacks. For example, Rivian just announced another 1% job cut on top of the 10% they laid off back in February. Even Tesla revealed plans to trim their global workforce by over 10% this week.
But here’s some good news for NIO! Their sales actually rebounded in March thanks to new models hitting the market. They delivered a whopping 11,866 vehicles in March (their highest monthly total this year!), bringing their first quarter total to 30,053. So, while the EV industry might be feeling some bumps, NIO seems to be on the right track with new vehicles and strong sales.
