Fisker has announced its future plans along with preliminary 2023 and fourth quarter earnings, and it doesn't look very good for the electric vehicle manufacturer. The company plans to lay off 15 percent of its workforce (nearly 200 people) as it transitions from a direct-to-consumer model to a partner distributor model. The company is pausing all investments in upcoming models and will resume them only if it partners with another automaker.
The company's fourth-quarter revenue rose to $200.1 million from $128.3 million in the third quarter. However, its gross margin was negative 35 percent and it lost $1.23 per share. Its only electric vehicle on the market, the Ocean SUV, also produced 10,193 units but delivered 4,929 vehicles.
The automaker first introduced its pivot in a Distributor Partner Model in January and claims to have received interest from 250 distributors in North America and Europe, along with 13 signed deals. “We are aware that the industry has entered a turbulent and unpredictable period,” Henrik Fisker, president and CEO of Fisker, said in a statement. “With that understanding and leveraging lessons learned from 2023, we have put in place a plan to streamline the business as we prepare for another difficult year. We have adjusted our outlook for 2024 to be much more conservative than in 2023.” The company plans to deliver between 20,000 and 22,000 Ocean models worldwide.
Fisker is currently negotiating with “a large automaker” for joint investment and production of future electric vehicles. This means that previously announced production of vehicles, such as the Alaska EV pickup truck with huge cupholders and a designated space for a cowboy hat, will be put on hold indefinitely. Fisker originally planned to begin production of the Alaska EV pickup truck in early 2025.