Electric vehicle manufacturer Arcimoto laid off 49 in last week’s restructuring and furloughed another 66, according to former employees. The permanent layoffs at the Eugene company included three executives, two of whom had been in those roles for just a few months.
Arcimoto makes a line of three-wheeled electric vehicles called Fun Utility Vehicles, or FUVs. The company has attracted a lot of attention from electric vehicle enthusiasts and investors, but supply chain problems and dwindling cash reserves have put Arcimoto’s future in doubt.
The company announced last week that it had trimmed its payroll by a third, cuts interim CEO Jesse Fittipaldi blamed on “macroeconomic environment conditions and supply chain issues.” He declined at the time to say just how many people lost their jobs.
The Oregonian/OregonLive learned details of the layoffs from former Arcimoto employees, who said that while they recognized the company was having trouble, they had seen no indication major cutbacks were on the way.
Arcimoto told furloughed employees it expected to bring them back within six weeks, once the company has time to line up additional funding.
“The people that we furloughed helped build one of few companies in the US that manufacture and sell pure electric vehicles. This is a tremendous achievement made possible through their determination and passion,” Fittipaldi wrote in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive on Monday. “These people are our friends and support us during the good times and bad times. The Team that remains is determined to bring success to this company and community, so we can bring these folks back, to help continue our mission, putting more ultra-efficient vehicles on the road.”
Human resources personnel summoned laid-off and furloughed employees to meetings last week, according to former employees, handing pink envelopes to those who lost their jobs. Fittipaldi addressed employees by video conference because he was out of town.
Arcimoto had 250 employees at the end of December, according to regulatory filings. It opened a 250,000-square-foot factory in February.
More:Eugene’s homegrown Arcimoto electric vehicles finding their way to local customers
Revenues were flat through the first six months of the year, though, at $2.2 million. And Arcimoto reported a $30 million loss for the first half of 2022.
Arcimoto had just $5 million in cash at the end of June, compared to $17 million at the end of 2021. It has been sustaining itself by selling additional shares, which kept the bills paid but diluted existing shareholders’ stake.
The stock has lost 97% of its value since shares peaked at $36 in February 2021. Arcimoto shares were up 2% Tuesday morning at $1.32.
Last week’s layoffs included Arcimoto’s chief of business support and its supply chain chief, both of whom the company promoted into their executive positions last July. Also laid off was the former CEO of Tilting Motor Works, who joined the company when Arcimoto acquired the business last year.
Arcimoto founder and former CEO Mark Frohnmayer remains on leave. The company demoted him to “chief vision officer” in August following his arrest for driving one of Arcimoto’s vehicles while drunk.
More:Arcimoto founder Mark Frohnmayer enters diversion program for DUII
Arcimoto’s job cuts are among the largest layoffs in Oregon this year, a period when corporate downsizing has been exceedingly rare. The number of Oregon job openings far exceeds the number of unemployed people and the state’s jobless rate remains near a historic low, 3.7%.
