Lotus is cutting up to 270 jobs in the UK as it becomes the latest manufacturer to face difficulties off the back of Donald Trump’s automotive tariffs.
The car brand – now under Chinese ownership – said that ‘the proposed business restructure is to ensure sustainable operations’ as it faces ‘volatile and evolving market conditions including the US tariffs and shifting consumer demand for sports cars’.
The redundancies will be focused on Lotus’ sports car factory in Hethel, Norfolk, which is home to the famous Lotus FIA-approved test track, bought by Lotus founding husband-and-wife team Colin and Hazel Chapman in 1966.
The Lotus Advanced Structures factory, the Lotus Advanced Technology R&D site in Warwick and the London’s Group Lotus commercial headquarters are unaffected in the restructuring, This is Money has been told.
Lotus, which is owned by Geely Group (which also owns Volvo and Polestar), has seen its UK-built sports cars subject to Trump’s new 25 per cent automotive tariffs this week. As a consequence, the Norwich low-volume car maker halted shipments of its Emira sports car to US in response.
However, despite Lotus saying it ‘will increase synergies’ with Geely, it has doubled down on how its commitment to the UK.
Lotus ‘anticipates up to 270 jobs’ will be cut across Lotus Cars in the UK as part of a restructuring that reflects ‘volatile and evolving market conditions including the US tariffs and shifting consumer demand for sports cars’
The ‘proposed business restructure’ follows on from an announcement six months ago that up to 200 jobs would be cut due to ‘market demand and evolving market conditions’.
Lotus’ statement to This is Money said: ‘Lotus Cars has announced a proposed business restructure to ensure sustainable operations, amid volatile and evolving market conditions including the US tariffs and shifting consumer demand for sports cars.
‘The company plans to increase synergies across the wider Lotus brand and with its largest shareholder and technology partner, Geely Holding Group. It will look at greater resource sharing and collaboration in technology, engineering, and operations.
‘We anticipate up to 270 jobs impacted across Lotus Cars in the UK. This proposed restructuring is vital to enhance our competitiveness in today’s market.
‘We remain committed to the UK, home of Lotus brand, where we operate our sportscar manufacturing and global design centre, and is a key commercial market for the brand.’
Lotus’ UK-built cars currently include the new Emira coupe, the Emeya Hyper-GT EV and the Electre Hyper SUV EV.
Lotus, which employs around 1,200 people, is a small volume manufacturer and has always offered a limited line up of lightweight performance vehicles which deliver exhilarating driving experiences.
Lotus’ Norfolk HQ, the target of the 270 proposed redundancies is home to its 2.2-mile racetrack used test new Lotus cars but by the great names of F1 including Senna
It’s not the first time Lotus has come up against tariff issues: Lotus Technology, the Wuhan arm that builds the Emeya and Eletre in China, had to double its price of the Eletre to a whopping $220,000 to stay profitable in the face of the US’ 100 per cent import duties on Chinese-made EVs last year.
As of 10 April, those import tariffs have increased to a whopping 145 per cent – the most imposed on any country.
This is down from the initial 185 per cent tariffs after President Trump recognised ‘transition problems’ and ‘difficulty’ amid the global tariff war and falling markets.
While Lotus restructures amid the dual challenge of global sport car demand and tariffs weigh heavy, it’s worth noting that Lotus is also know for teetering on the brink of greatness and failure, having previously bounced back from several waves of financial problems over the years.
This is perhaps just the latest wave for the Hethel maker to ride in its eight-decade history.
A history of Lotus and its Hethel home
Colin Chapman, co-founder of Lotus created the Mark 1 Lotus from a re-engineered 1928 Austin Seven
Lotus was founded in 1948 in London by Colin and Hazel Chapman, and has gone on to produce some iconic vehicles, and unforgettable moments of racing history.
Colin, RAF pilot turned race car builder, created the Mark 1 Lotus from a re-engineered 1928 Austin Seven.
In 1956, the Lotus Eleven kickstarted the Lotus tradition of model names beginning with ‘E’. And from then on when someone says Elise or Emira, you just know – Lotus.
Ten years later, in 1966, Lotus settled at the Hethel factory in Norfolk with its 2.5-mile race track.
By this point the Type 25, driven by Jim Clark, had won the 1963 Formula One Constructors’ and Drivers’ title for Lotus.
Chapman’s co-founder was his girlfriend turned wife Hazel
The famous Chapman philosophy of ‘adding power makes you faster on the straights, subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere’ went from strength-to-strength on road and on track.
But fast-forward to the ’90s and 2000s, and Lotus was struggling to balance high investment costs and low-volume output. Then after two decades in the red, Lotus was sold in 2017 to Geely – the Chinese automotive giant – who bought a 49.9 per cent stake.
Last year, it was announced that Geely wants to turn the British sports car maker into a premium EV brand, with three new cars in four years.
‘Born British, Raised Globally’ is the new tagline.
