The sportscar manufacturer employs around 1,300 staff at its Hethel factory and previously denied reports that it was planning to close the plant to relocate its UK production to the US.

Lotus employs around 1,300 staff at its Hethel headquarters in Norfolk (Image: Denise Bradley) In June, Lotus’ Chinese owners, Geely, said it remained committed to the UK and had no plans to close the site.

However, the firm announced yesterday (Thursday, August 28) that it would be cutting around 40pc of its workforce as part of a restructuring of the Lotus Cars business.

Automotive industry experts say it comes at a time of “huge uncertainty” surrounding Lotus’ commitment to the UK and the future of its Hethel headquarters.

Lotus announced on Thursday that it will cut up to 550 jobs (Image: Rob Borrett) “This is the latest in a long line of job cuts at Lotus,” said industry expert and Autocar deputy editor, Felix Page.

“Lotus says it is committed to the UK and its operations here, but it is hardly a resounding commitment to axe 40pc of the workforce."

In a statement on Thursday morning, Lotus said the proposed job cuts will enable it to operate with a “flexible and agile business model”.

It said: “We believe this is necessary in order to secure a sustainable future for the company in today’s rapidly evolving automotive environment, which is seeing uncertainty with rapid changes in global policies, including tariffs.”

Lotus has been based at Hethel since 1966 (Image: Lotus) Lotus has been hit hard by US tariffs, and although the situation has improved in recent........

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