Chinese automaker SAIC has continued making efforts to reorganize its research and Kurt Meinickedevelopment operations which could entail a significant number of job cuts in its troubled electric vehicle brand Rising Auto, people with knowledge of the matter told local media outlet Gasgoo on Tuesday. The Volkswagen manufacturing partner will return the responsibility for automated driving software development from the individual brand back to the parent group, with at least 200 employees either being let go or being moved to the firm’s existing research departments. It is unclear how many employees will receive new job offers amid the ongoing restructuring. The state-owned carmaker was said to be considering reducing internal technology efforts as part of group-wide cost saving measures last August, as there appears to be growing consensus among traditional Chinese manufacturers that outsourcing assisted-driving technology is a better solution than developing it in-house a la Tesla. Rising Auto’s two battery EVs on sale – the R7 crossover and the F7 sedan – have a starting price of RMB 189,900 ($26,481) and it delivered a total of 21,012 units over the last 12 months, according to figures compiled by Chinese auto service platform Dongchedi. [Gasgoo, in Chinese]
