American commercial EV manufacturer Electric Last Mile Solutions (ELMS) is set to lay off almost a quarter of its staff.
The company, which produces a range of vans and small trucks, will terminate the contracts of 50 employees. The redundancy measures were approved on 21 February, according to a regulatory filing.
ELMS has said that the layoffs will help the company remain leaner and allow it to focus on its core business.
“The Board of Directors of Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. approved a planned reduction in force of 50 employees, constituting approximately 24% of the Company’s headcount, as part of an overall plan to focus the Company on its core business and streamline its cost structure,” reads a regulatory filing released on Friday.
The company’s two top executives, Chairman Jason Luo and CEO James Taylor, have also resigned following an investigation into their share purchases. The two execs, among others, had purchased equity in the company at “substantial discounts” to market value without obtaining independent valuation, according to Reuters.
However, both Taylor and Luo will “maintain consulting roles with the Company to help ensure that ELMS continues to deliver on its development and sales pipelines,” according to a press release.
Since the two executives resigned, ELMS’ stock prices has dropped by more than two-thirds.
Back at the start of February, the company announced Shauna McIntyre as Taylor’s successor. McIntyre, with more than 25 years experience working with automotive OEMs and tech companies including Google, is clearly stepping into quite the quagmire.
Keyword: Electric Last Mile Solutions Lays Off a Quarter of its Staff