Photo: Lucid Motors
Lucid Motors is in the middle of a significant overhaul of its manufacturing operations as it struggles with the production ramp of the Air sedan. A Business Insider story describes the shakeup as nothing short of chaos. However, the situation might be a little less dramatic.
Business Insider states six prominent executives have left Lucid in the past months, including Vice President of Global Manufacturing Peter Hochholdinger. This was presented as a significant loss for the company, potentially dealing a heavy blow to Lucid’s plans to ramp up production and extend its model range. While the exact reasons for their departure remain unknown, we can only speculate that they were not exactly comfortable with the changes implemented at Lucid.
Lucid Motors recently appointed Steven David as Senior Vice President of Operations. David will lead supply chain, logistics, manufacturing, and quality operations, reporting directly to Lucid’s CEO and CTO, Peter Rawlinson. Steven David worked for Chrysler and Stellantis in the past, bringing a wealth of experience in manufacturing and operations to the company. We could only assume the changes David implemented were hard to stomach for the six defecting executives.
A new report from Lucid insiders and shared on the Lucid Owners forum seems to confirm these speculations. According to the report, Steven David was brought in “to address the bureaucracy, tribal mentality, and lack of ownership (when things didn’t go right) at the Arizona plant.” He started to move things around to improve how the plant is operated, and indeed it seems like things are improving.
“So far, things are working out better & morale at the plant is up,” writes user Grnr92663 on the Lucid Owners forum. “The production setup, inventory, and scheduling for car production are all improving quite significantly. Space remains an issue for them, and they think once the new spaces are in operation, a lot of the issues in regard to inventory & logistics would be alleviated.”
According to the same source, Peter Rawlinson was too focused on efficiency, technology, and marketing, becoming disconnected from the mundane logistics and production operations. The tipster thinks the shakeup is good for the company, as the CEO is “no longer asking people to change their mindset, but rather bring in people with a different mindset.”
Lucid Motors recently appointed Steven David as Senior Vice President of Operations. David will lead supply chain, logistics, manufacturing, and quality operations, reporting directly to Lucid’s CEO and CTO, Peter Rawlinson. Steven David worked for Chrysler and Stellantis in the past, bringing a wealth of experience in manufacturing and operations to the company. We could only assume the changes David implemented were hard to stomach for the six defecting executives.
A new report from Lucid insiders and shared on the Lucid Owners forum seems to confirm these speculations. According to the report, Steven David was brought in “to address the bureaucracy, tribal mentality, and lack of ownership (when things didn’t go right) at the Arizona plant.” He started to move things around to improve how the plant is operated, and indeed it seems like things are improving.
“So far, things are working out better & morale at the plant is up,” writes user Grnr92663 on the Lucid Owners forum. “The production setup, inventory, and scheduling for car production are all improving quite significantly. Space remains an issue for them, and they think once the new spaces are in operation, a lot of the issues in regard to inventory & logistics would be alleviated.”
According to the same source, Peter Rawlinson was too focused on efficiency, technology, and marketing, becoming disconnected from the mundane logistics and production operations. The tipster thinks the shakeup is good for the company, as the CEO is “no longer asking people to change their mindset, but rather bring in people with a different mindset.”
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