On August 22, a number of employees from NIO, a Chinese electric vehicle company, confirmed to media that they’ve received an internal letter stating that the EV company will continue with layoffs. The letter revealed that NIO is planning to retain 7,500 people by the end of September.

SEE ALSO: NIO’s July Sales Tumble Amid Overall EV Industry Slowdown

Qin Lihong, president and co-founder of NIO, said in early August that the total number of employees at NIO was close to 8,800, and that the company was going through a structural optimization process to improve operational efficiency.

This is not the first time NIO had to cut down on staff sizes. According to official information from the company, their team consisted of over 9,500 people back in January.

NIO’s internal letter says, “In the past six months, the company’s internal and external environments have changed greatly. In order to ensure the survival and development of the company, we need to strengthen our awareness and adjust our plans in a timely manner to further control expenditures, improve operational efficiency, and gather resources for the core business.”

According to industrial predictions, car sales in China and the world might be sluggish for the coming two to three years. Previously, other car companies such as Ford, Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover and Nissan also announced plans to conduct layoffs.