Dive Brief:
- The U.S. CFO of Vietnamese electric-vehicle maker VinFast has left the company amid job cuts in North America, according to a Bloomberg News report Tuesday.
- Rodney Haynes, finance chief of VinFast US, was among about 80 employees whose jobs were impacted by a restructuring of the company's North America business, Bloomberg reported, citing “people familiar with the situation.” A VinFast spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- The company is consolidating its Canadian and U.S. strategic business and management operations into a single unit that will be known as VinFast North America, according to a Jan. 25 statement.
Dive Insight:
The news comes as VinFast, whose U.S. headquarters is located in Los Angeles, prepares to enter the U.S. public market and grapples with a stalled shipment of its first cars, according to Reuters, which first reported job cuts related to the restructuring plan.
The move is part of a long-term strategy to boost VinFast’s position in the automotive industry, according to the company’s statement last month.
"The consolidation is designed to provide greater focus, responsiveness and accountability, in order to streamline operations and enhance the delivery of its new electric vehicles to customers while reducing expenses," the statement said.
Nguyen Thi Van Anh, will serve as CEO of VinFast North America while maintaining her current role as CEO of VinFast US Manufacturing, it said.
Haynes joined VinFast as US CFO in May 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. His prior roles include controller of global capacity planning at Ford Motor Co. and CFO of AutoAlliance International Inc.
Among others impacted by the layoffs was Hitesh Vansh, who previously served as senior manager of mobile service operations for VinFast Canada, according to a post on his LinkedIn page.
"The past 4 months have been an experience like no other," Vansh said in the post. "I am grateful for the experience, the people, the challenge and the mission to which I contributed with my colleagues, and I wish the entire team at VinFast the ultimate success."
