About 140 jobs are set to go at the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), in Coventry. The firm said, like other automotive firms, it had been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and would be looking for voluntary redundancies. The move forms part of a package of measures to improve cash flow.
LEVC developed London’s first electric black cab, with more than 4,400 vehicles now on the capital’s streets. It said a disruption to supply chains during the pandemic and “significant global economic challenges” meant there was a need to restructure the business.
The London Taxi Company, since renamed LEVC, faced administration in 2013 before China’s Zhejing Geely Holding Group stepped in to rescue the firm. It opened a £300m plant in Ansty in 2017, creating more than 1,000 jobs.
Positive future
Prof David Bailey, of Birmingham Business School at the University of Birmingham, said the move was a “great shame”. “The future looks positive, but right now it is pretty tough,” he said. “A longer-term the future is electric for cars, taxis, and vans.”
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street described the announcement as “incredibly sad”. “It is a brilliant West Midlands brand producing green, clean taxis worldwide – it is iconic what is being done there,” he said. “If it [job cuts] is part of the way [the company] can become more successful for the long term, sometimes it has to be done.”
