Lotus May Lay Off 27 Percent of its Staff

Hundreds Lotus employees may be out of a job in the near future.

The British automaker has released a statement revealing that it plans to reorganize the company and that could mean terminating up to 325 of its 1,215 employees worldwide. According to CEO Jean-Marc Gales, the British automaker has “worked very hard to avoid the need to make the proposal, but do believe that it is now essential.”

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Lotus is launching a 45-day consultation process as the automaker tries to recover from its recent years of financial troubles. The company is currently owned by Malaysian-based DRB-Hicom, which has insisted it is ready to stand behind Lotus and has hired consultants Ernst & Young and Rothschild to help create a financial turnaround plan.

“We understand the concerns that this proposal will create,” said Jean-Marc Gales, chief executive officer of Group Lotus, in a statement. “We deeply regret the potential impact any reshaping of the business may have on our employees and their families.”

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