Just days after confirming a new delay in delivering its first vehicles to American buyers, VinFast confirmed it will cut 80 U.S. jobs, including its chief financial officer.
The cuts come amidst a series of shifts at VinFast’s North American operations and raises questions as the Vietnamese startup prepares to launch a $2 billion IPO this year.
Among other things, VinFast has consolidated its U.S. and Canadian units into a single North American operation. That was blamed by the company for the ouster of CFO Rodney Haynes.
“Streamlining” North American operations
All told, 80 jobs are being eliminated in both the U.S. and Canada, according to a report by Bloomberg. A representative of the automaker has yet to respond to questions from TheDetroitBureau.com asking for details, but the automaker told Bloomberg it is attempting to improve its efficiency.
That, the automaker explained in an e-mail, “leads to the streamlining of our North American operations and there are certain departments affected by this.”
Even as VinFast moves to pare down its North American operations, it continues to delay the first vehicle deliveries to U.S. customers.
Sales launch delayed
A boatload holding the first 999 of the midsize Vin Fast VF 8 model left from Haiphong harbor in late November and reached the States in December. The original plan called for a small number of those battery-electric SUVs to be delivered by year-end. That was subsequently pushed back to January. Last week, the automaker confirmed it was again delaying deliveries until late February.
VinFast officials blamed the delay on the need to update the EVs’ onboard software. But there was no explanation why that would take so long, especially considering that all VinFast products feature the ability to use smartphone-style over-the-air software updates.
With initial deliveries delayed, VinFast said it would also delay the arrival of a second boatload of EVs. It is unclear whether these moves would impact the launch of the automaker’s second model line, the larger VF 9.
More products coming
VinFast had previously moved up launch plans for two other new products, the compact VF 6 and VF 7 lines. During interviews with TheDetroitBureau.com at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, officials said they could reach U.S. showrooms by late 2023, rather than early the following year.
A spokesperson on Monday of this week told TheDetroitBureau.com, “There haven’t been any new vehicle timing announcements on those models.”
Waiting for IPO, plant approval
The Vietnamese company is waiting for regulatory approval to begin work on a new, $4 billion assembly complex in North Carolina. It has set a goal of beginning production there by late 2024. Currently, all of its products are assembled at a factory in Haiphong. VinFast also plans to produce batteries in the U.S., a move that could help it qualify under the revised EV incentives program.
But that project is also tied to VinFast’s goal of raising at least $2 billion through an IPO it hopes will take place sometime in 2023. That stock offering would, if all goes well, set a value for the company of $60 billion.
Currently, VinFast is owned by Vietnam’s largest company, the Vingroup conglomerate.
TheDetroitBureau.com will update this story when company officials respond with further details.