Quebec’s Lion Electric temporarily lays off more than half of remaining workforce | CBC News

Quebec company Lion Electric is once again reducing its workforce, announcing 400 more temporary layoffs, which accounts for more than half of the electric bus and truck manufacturer’s remaining employees. 

“As a result of this downsizing, Lion will have approximately 300 employees who will focus on bus manufacturing, sales and delivery operations, and continue to help customers maintain the vehicles that are on the road,” the company wrote in a statement Sunday.

Lion Electric had already laid off at least 520 workers this year.

The company also announced it has extended the repayment period for some of its loans that were due this past weekend, and it will continue to operate for now.

Lion Electric had until noon Saturday to find a business partner, otherwise it would not be entitled to the public funding promised by the Coalition Avenir Québec government.

But it managed to extend the deadline for its loans provided by the financial institution Finalta Capital and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) to Dec.16. 

Lion Electric’s debt currently stands at more than $411 million Cnd.

Manufacturing operations at its plant in Joliet, Ill., will be halted due to the layoffs. The company did not specify what effect the reduction in staff would have on its operations in Mirabel and Saint-Jérôme in the Laurentians. 

So far, Quebec has injected $177 million into the company, while Ottawa has paid out $30 million of the $50 million that the federal government had promised.

The company says it is currently examining different solutions — including selling the company or some of its assets and a request for protection from its creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. 

Lion Electric an ‘important player’ in decarbonization

The vast majority of the 1,300 electric school buses currently on the roads in Quebec were built by Lion Electric. The prospect of Lion’s eventual closure has transport operators worried.

“In terms of vehicle maintenance, warranty compliance, bus parts, etc., all these issues are being raised by the industry, and everyone is very concerned,” Luc Lafrance, CEO of the Fédération des transporteurs par autobus, told Radio-Canada. 

The union representing Lion Electric employees, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (AIMAW), said the deadline extension doesn’t guarantee a solution. 

“We shouldn’t forget that behind the company’s difficulties are people who are anxious and worried about their future, which is why we are calling on all parties to mobilize,” wrote Éric Rancourt, the AIMAW’s representative for Quebec, in a statement sent to Radio-Canada. 

“Transport electrification is currently experiencing difficulties, but it remains a sector of the future, and we need to find solutions to maintain and develop this expertise in Quebec.” 

In a statement sent to Radio-Canada, the office of the Quebec minister responsible for economy and energy, explained that Minister Christine Fréchette has held discussions with Minister of Employment Kateri Champagne Jourdain. 

“Our government will be able to support employees who request it,” read the statement.

“We have ambitious goals for decarbonizing Quebec, and Lion is an important player in achieving them.”