British sports car manufacturer Lotus is set to cut up to 270 jobs in the UK, citing “volatile and evolving market conditions”, including the impact of new US tariffs on its vehicles.
The Norfolk-based company said the restructuring was “vital to enhance our competitiveness” and ensure long-term sustainability. The cuts will affect staff at its Hethel plant near Norwich, where the Emira coupé and Evija hypercar are manufactured. Other UK sites — including the Lotus Advanced Structures facility at Norwich Airport, its R&D centre in Warwick, and commercial HQ in London — will remain unaffected.
The move comes just days after Lotus halted US shipments of the Emira, in response to President Trump’s 25% import tariff on UK-built cars — part of a broader tariff shake-up that has sent ripples through the global automotive sector.
In a statement shared with Business Matters, the company 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 added that it would seek greater synergies with its parent company Geely, the Chinese automotive giant which also owns Volvo, Polestar and LEVC. This could include closer collaboration in engineering, technology and operations, although details remain limited.
Second round of job cuts in six months
This is the second major wave of redundancies at Lotus in less than a year. In late 2023, the firm announced up to 200 job cuts, also citing market uncertainty and a need to restructure operations in line with global demand.
The latest decision brings total potential job losses to nearly 470 roles — a significant reduction for a UK workforce of around 1,200 employees, according to LinkedIn data.
Despite the restructuring, Dan Balmer, Lotus’s European boss, reaffirmed the importance of the company’s Hethel base: “Having that as our sports car base is important,” he said, citing its FIA-approved test track and the site’s historical significance.
Lotus’s challenges are part of a broader disruption across the car industry. Its China-based division, Lotus Technology, was hit hard by Trump’s 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles — recently revised to 145%. That forced Lotus to more than double the price of its Eletre SUV in the US to maintain margins, jumping from under £100,000 in the UK to more than $220,000 (£170,000) stateside.
Despite the pricing shift, Lotus Technology has not announced job cuts or production changes at its Wuhan plant, where it builds the Eletre and Emeya SUVs.
Lotus’s UK leadership says it remains committed to the brand’s heritage and local operations, but the latest cuts underscore the pressure facing performance and EV brands amid protectionist trade policies and global supply chain challenges.
With the US — formerly Lotus’s largest market — now pricing out many of its exports, the company’s strategy will need to evolve fast to remain competitive in an increasingly fragmented global market.
