Canoo Inc. is parting ways with its head of manufacturing just a few weeks after announcing plans to outsource production of its upcoming electric vehicle for Walmart Inc.
(Bloomberg) — Canoo Inc.
is parting ways with its head of manufacturing just a few weeks after announcing plans to outsource production of its upcoming electric vehicle for Walmart Inc.
John Mocny, a longtime employee of General Motors Inc.
who joined the startup in early 2022 from Harley-Davidson Inc., is leaving the startup, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mocny declined to comment. A spokesperson for Canoo had no immediate comment.
The exit after less than a year on the job is the latest sign of executive tumult at the fledgling EV company, which has struggled to bring a production vehicle to market since going public in a December 2020 merger with a blank-check company.
Its shares have tumbled about 59% this year.
Other recent departures include Canoo’s former chief human resources officer and multiple employees in the talent acquisition department earlier this month, according to the people familiar.
Rich Schmidt, a former Tesla Inc. executive who was brought on as a senior vice president of manufacturing in December, left the company in May.
Read more: Canoo Loses More Executives as EV Startup Suffers Talent Drain
The startup said last month that Walmart had placed an order for at least 4,500 battery-powered vans, with the option to purchase up to 10,000.
To meet that demand, Canoo, which has said it will move its headquarters to Walmart’s hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas, plans to use a third party for initial production.
Canoo had previously explored outsourcing, tapping Dutch outfit VDL Nedcar last year to build its vehicles, but ultimately walked away from that plan.
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