Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast is cutting jobs in the United States and Canada as part of a restructuring that will merge operations in the two countries. The restructuring comes as VinFast prepares to enter the U.S. public market and delays deliveries to the first customers in the country.
VinFast has not shared how many employees have been cut, but a LinkedIn message of a former employee said “nearly 35 reels” were affected. That said a spokesman Reuters the workforce in Vietnam, where most of the company’s workforce and engineering departments work, would not shrink.
“The past 4 months have been an experience like no other,” the post reads. “From meeting and collaborating with some of the industry’s most talented professionals, to building a team and program with the intent to launch a nationwide service for a startup.”
Note the “intent to launch” portion of that statement. Neither the employee who wrote the post nor the company have responded to businessroundups.org to clarify the nature of the nationwide service and whether VinFast has ceased operations there, but we have some guesses.
A big part of VinFast’s luxury EV offering in the US is the customer experience, including cellular service network and over-the-air firmware updates. The company may also be pursuing an EV charging network in the United States VinFast has done in Vietnam. Some of the affected employees who posted on LinkedIn worked in mobile service operations and EV charging infrastructure, which could indicate that VinFast is backing away from launching these services in North America.
VinFast’s expansion strategy into international markets also includes a direct-to-consumer sales model. Many of the 150 people VinFast said it hired in the US held sales, support and distribution roles.
The company, a subsidiary of the conglomerate Vingroup, is advancing in the US market with four electric SUVs and possibly a sports car. Last week VinFast said yes delay deliveries to its first customers in the US until the second half of February as it finishes updating vehicles with the latest software.
