Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Electric vehicle startup Canoo has reportedly suspended half of its workforce at its Oklahoma City manufacturing facility for three months, until early February, according to employees’ posts on the social media platform Reddit.
An employee added that there were “hints that it might be longer/permanent” adding that the health insurance was immediately terminated on Thursday, the same day of the announcement.
“Wanted to announce that 50% of the OKC facility got twelve week furloughed today (with hints that it might be longer/permanent). Absolute lack of respect for employees, no severance whatsoever, and health insurance is terminated on October 31st (today),” an employee shared on Reddit.
In September, Canoo moved its headquarters from California to Justin, Texas, relocating “approximately 137 engineering roles” to facilities in Oklahoma City and Pryor, Oklahoma.
By then, the company said it planned to “expand and ramp to approximately 150 open positions in the near future” without detailing a specific timeline.
“Many of the manufacturing staff got cut, so good luck actually being able to produce any cars anymore. Best guess is they are trying to bolster the IP and sell it/get bought out now,” the employee added.
Shares of Canoo hit an all-time low of $0.74 on Thursday, exacerbated by the company’s withdrawal of revenue and operational guidance in mid-September.
The retraction included its 2024 production and delivery forecasts, casting further doubt on the startup’s ability to meet its timeline for scaling production.
Canoo recently filed a preliminary proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), detailing proposals for stock issuances, revised agreements with investment firm Yorkville Advisors, and the potential for a reverse stock split.
The EV maker executed a 1-for-23 reverse split in March to maintain compliance.
For the second quarter of 2024, Canoo reported $605,000 in revenue, an adjusted EBITDA loss of $38.6 million, and an adjusted net loss of $0.61 per share.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
