Canadian company "Lion Électrique" (i.e. "The Electric Lion") announced the cancellation of 150 jobs, nearly 10% of its total workforce. The jobs targeted by this decision are located in Canada and the United States.

The company, which manufactures electric vehicles and is headquartered in the city of Saint-Jérôme in the province of Quebec, explained that it made this decision in order to "reduce cost structure and improve the ability to achieve profitability goals."

This reduction in workforce will mainly focus on production support operations, manufacturing, product development, and administration in Canadian and American facilities, according to the company.

For his part, Lion Électrique’s founder and CEO Marc Bedard said that making this decision was "very difficult," but it remains the "wisest decision for the company at this stage," as he clarified in his press statement.

Lion Électrique manufactures medium and heavy vehicles from class 5 to class 8 that run on 100% electricity, especially school buses and heavy trucks.

One of the company’s most prominent products is the "Lion 8" truck with 10 wheels, designed for urban use, with a range of 400 kilometers.

The electric trucks manufactured by Lion Électrique have attracted a lot of attention in recent years, especially from the federal government and the government of Quebec, which invested approximately $100 million in 2021, in the form of a loan, to build a factory for assembling electric batteries in Saint-Jérôme, estimated at a total cost of $185 million at that time.

The Quebec Alcohol Corporation (SAQ), a public institution owned by the Quebec state, was also among the first companies to purchase Lion 8 electric trucks.

However, the Quebec public institution was not satisfied with the performance of the first truck of the mentioned model, which it received after three years of delay, and had to return the truck to Lion Électrique for many repairs to be made.

Also, the high cost of the truck and the electric charging infrastructure, in addition to the shorter range than advertised, constituted additional obstacles to acquiring the truck.