Lion Electric (LEV) president Nicholas Brunet has resigned his role as the cash-strapped battery-electric school bus and truck manufacturer continues its financial fight to stay alive. Brunet assumed the post in September 2023.
The Quebec manufacturer laid off around 400 of its 700 employees on December 1 - the same day Brunet quietly resigned. His departure was not made public until now. Where does the company go from here? The lay offs took place at Lion's Joliet, Illinois school bus factory and Canadian headquarters. Its remaining 300 or so employees are now tasked with handling critical operations, including manufacturing, sales, deliveries, and customer service.
The company previously laid off 520 employees earlier this year.
[Related: Lion Electric suspends Illinois plant production, lays off hundreds]
For now, lenders such as the National Bank of Canada, have given Lion until December 16 to repay several of its loans, which were due the final weekend of November. Lion shares are continuing to trade on the New York and Toronto Stock Exchange. As of this writing, shares were up by 8.43 percent and 11.83 percent, respectively, at the closing bell. Reports from last week claim that Mach Capital, the investment division of Groupe Mach Inc., a Canadian-based real estate developer, is discussing a rescue package. The involved parties have not provided updates on the matter.
Along with zero-emission school buses, Lion's lineup includes electrified Class 6 and 8 commercial trucks though their production status is also up in the air.
Brunet was tasked by Lion CEO Marc Bedard, who still remains at the helm, to grow "all strategic aspects of the business, with a focus on accelerating sales across the United States and Canada, and oversee all commercial operations."
The 900,000 square-foot Joliet factory opened in July 2023, and remains the largest U.S.-based plant dedicated to all-electric medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicle manufacturing. At full scale production capacity, the plant is capable of building around 20,000 vehicles annually.
To date, the Quebec government has invested $177 million CAD into Lion and, at the federal level, Ottawa contributed $30 million CAD of the $50 million CAD it already promised.
