Electric bus and truck manufacturer The Lion Electric Company (LEV-N) is cutting 150 jobs in Canada and the U.S. to reduce expenses.

The Saint-Jérôme, Que.-headquartered company’s job reductions will impact approximately 10 per cent of its workforce across production overhead, manufacturing, product development and administration, according to a release.

"Although this was a very difficult decision and we are sad to part ways with valued employees, this initiative was the right thing to do for the business at this point in time," Lion Electric CEO and founder Marc Bedard said in a release.

In its fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 30, Lion Electric achieved record revenues of US$80.3 million and record gross profit of US$5.4 million. Those figures compare to revenue of US$41 million and a gross loss of US$3.8 million in 2022.

It also reported delivering 245 vehicles to its customers, an increase of 89 vehicles compared to the 156 delivered in the same period in 2022 as it continued to expand its production capacity.

But the company showed a net loss of US$19.9 million in Q3 2023 compared to a net loss of US$17.2 million in Q3 2022. The loss was driven by a lower decrease in the fair value of share warrant obligations, and increased finance costs from higher interest expenses on long-term debt.

Lion Electric’s stock on the NYSE was at US$1.62 in mid-afternoon trading, down about 3.5 per cent on the day.

Layoffs in the clean energy economy

Lion Electric joins other companies in the clean energy economy facing turbulent times due to broader economic trends such as supply chain disruptions, rising costs, higher interest rates and other factors.

Ford and Volkswagen made layoffs earlier this year in the companies’ respective electric vehicle factories.

Shell said it would let go of 200 employees in its clean energy division, while General Electric slashed its onshore wind workforce by 20 per cent.