LOOKS LIKE LOTUS IS LAYING OFF A QUARTER OF ITS WORKERS

Lotus has had a difficult past few years. Its now former CEO, Dany Bahar, was canned after a short and controversial tenure, and parent company Proton was sold as well.In the meantime, production has remained on existing models such as the Evora and Exige, but nothing really in the way of expansion and the development of new models, such as a reborn Esprit. Today, however, we’ve been given an update directly from Group Lotus, and it's not very good news.

The Hethel, UK-based sports car builder has just issued a press release stating that it’s proposing "to restructure its worldwide workforce as a result of the need both to reshape its organization and to reduce costs." If the plan ultimately goes through, "the loss of up to 325 jobs" could be a result. Lotus currently employs a total of 1,215 people worldwide. New and current CEO Jean-Marc Gales, former president of Peugeot Citroen, stated that Lotus "worked very hard to avoid the need to make this proposal, but do believe that it is now essential. We deeply understand the concerns that this proposal will create. We deeply regret the potential impact any reshaping of the business may have on our employees and their families."