Bentley sheds a quarter of its workforce

Bentley Motors will cut nearly a quarter of all its employees and delay its EV plans in a bid to slash costs in the wake of a COVID-19-related slump in sales and a bleak forecast for the rest of 2020.

The British car-maker says most of the job losses -- amounting to more than 1000 out of a total workforce of around 4200 -- will be voluntary redundancies.

“This is a necessary step that we have to take to safeguard the jobs of the vast majority who will remain, and deliver a sustainable business model for the future,” said chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark.

According to Hallmark, COVID-19 was not the cause but the "hastener" for the cuts at the 100-year-old car-maker's Crewe factory, which reopened on May 11 after a lengthy seven-week shut down.

It's not known how the job losses and cuts will affect Bentley's 'Beyond100' strategy that was to have accelerated the development of electrified vehicles.

Bentley previously announced every model it makes will have a hybrid option by 2023 and that it will launch its first pure-electric car -- expected to be a high-riding crossover or sedan -- in 2025.

But those plans have reportedly been delayed, just as Aston Martin pushed back its plans to relaunch Lagonda as an EV-only premium brand in 2025.

Aston Martin last week announced it will axe 500 jobs while McLaren confirmed 1200 job losses in late May.