Aston Martin cuts 5% of workforce, delays first electric car again

Luxury carmaker Aston Martin said on Wednesday it would cut about 5% of its global workforce to further reduce costs and drive future investments, and delayed the launch of its first battery electric vehicle (BEV) for the second time.

“After a period of intense product launches, coupled with industry-wide and company challenges, our focus now shifts to operational execution and delivering financial sustainability,” CEO Adrian Hallmark said in a statement.

European carmakers including Volkswagen and Stellantis have already warned about rising costs amid a worsening outlook for auto demand in key markets like China and the spectre of a trade war between the EU and Beijing.

Aston Martin, famous for being fictional secret agent James Bond’s car of choice, said it expects to save about £25m (R582m) from the job cuts.

The company said it would prioritise its mid-engined Valhalla Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), and launch its first BEV in the latter part of this decade. It had last year pushed the launch of the BEV to 2026 due to lack of consumer demand.

The UK-based company has switched focus from older models to fresh ones such as the Vantage sports car and the DBX707 SUV in hopes of kicking its business into high gear.

It said it was banking on demand for Valhalla, deliveries of which will begin in the second half of 2025, to turn in positive adjusted operating earnings for the year and free cash flow in the second half.

The company reported adjusted pre-tax loss of £255.5m (R5.95bn) for the year ended December 31, compared with £171.8m a year ago and a company-compiled consensus estimate of £259m.

Reuters