Lucid Cuts Workforce; Altman Warns Against Blaming AI
Automaker Lucid is trimming 12% of its workforce as part of a push toward profitability. The layoffs come as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly cautioned tech companies against blaming mass layoffs on AI, stating, "you can’t blame everything on technology."
- This is the third round of layoffs for Lucid in the last three years; the current cuts spare hourly employees in manufacturing, logistics, and quality control at its Arizona facility. - The workforce reduction comes just days before Lucid's Q4 2025 earnings call on February 24, where it will detail its financial performance after a year of significant cash burn, including a net loss of over $1.8 billion in the first nine months of 2025. - Despite doubling vehicle production to over 18,300 units in 2025, Lucid faces a cooling EV market where overall U.S. market share for electric vehicles fell to 5.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025. - Sam Altman made his remarks at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, where he accused companies of "AI washing" by using artificial intelligence as a scapegoat for layoffs that were prompted by other business reasons like post-pandemic over-hiring or general restructuring. - According to data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, artificial intelligence was cited as a reason in nearly 55,000 layoffs throughout 2025. - While calling out the current trend of blaming AI, Altman differentiated it from future disruption, stating he expects the "real impact of AI doing jobs in the next few years will begin to be palpable." - The restructuring at Lucid is happening as the company continues to ramp up production of its Gravity SUV and aims to develop a more affordable mid-size vehicle projected for late 2026.
