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Historic British automaker, Lotus, has announced its plans to lay off around 550 workers from its UK headquarters. The restructuring will impact approximately 40% of the workforce at its Hethel, Norfolk plant.
Lotus described these measures as a way to bring its business objectives “in line with current market conditions”.
The company cited Trump’s tariffs as a contributing factor behind the decision. Speaking in a press release, Lotus stated:
“We believe this is necessary in order to secure a sustainable future for the company in today’s rapidly evolving automotive environment, which is seeing uncertainty with rapid changes in global policies including tariffs”.
Trump’s tariffs have put considerable strain on British automakers since their enactment earlier this spring. Under Trump’s new strategy, tariffs on UK-manufactured vehicles have spiralled from 2.5% to 25%.
The U.S. and UK struck a trade deal that temporarily reduced tariffs to 10% on May 8. However, the new rate only applies to the first 100,000 vehicles entering the U.S. per year.
Amid this uncertainty, Lotus has suffered heavy financial losses, reporting a net loss of over £230 million in the first half of 2025.
Despite mounting pressure to outsource production abroad, Lotus has defended its commitment to domestic production. In the same press release, the British sports car maker said:
“Norfolk will remain the home of the Lotus’ sports car, motorsports and engineering consulting operations”.
The company, owned by Chinese multinational Geely, carries out most of its EV production in Wuhan, China. In light of Trump’s stringent tariffs on Chinese-built EVs, Lotus electric models are effectively barred from the U.S. market.
Instead, Lotus is shifting focus to hybrid production, announcing the upcoming launch of a plug-in hybrid SUV set to debut in China as early as 2026. The model will showcase Lotus’ latest “Hyper Hybrid” technology.
Plans to go fully electric by 2028 have been scrapped in favour of a hybrid approach.
With the popularity of mid-size electric SUVs firmly on the rise, it remains to be seen if this radical restructure can save Lotus from further job losses.
The Hethel plant will continue to employ more than 700 workers, with Lotus insisting that Norfolk will remain the beating heart of production for the iconic British brand.
