Shanghai (ZXZC)- Chinese electric vehicle manufacture NIO plans to reduce its workforce by at least 1,200 staff by the end of September, Li Bin, founder, chairman and CEO of the high-profile startup revealed on August 22 in an internal e-mail.

NIO will retain roughly 7,500 staff after the cut, said Li Bin. The staff adjustment will be conducted as part of efforts to further control cost and improve the company's operation efficiency so as to concentrate resources on core businesses.

Staff to be reduced will primarily come from departments like human resources, law and finance, while the plan would have little impact on core operations such as R&D and user services.

（Photo source: NIO)

NIO announced earlier this month that it delivered 837 new vehicles in July, 2019, versus 1,340 units handed over a month ago.

Among vehicles delivered last month, 673 units and 164 units came from the ES6s and the ES8s, the Chinese EV startup said.

As of July 31, combined deliveries of the company's ES8 and ES6 amounted to 19,727 units, of which 8,379 vehicles were handed over in 2019.

NIO stated that its delivery performance in July was negatively impacted by multiple factors. Last month, they completed a voluntary battery recall for 4,803 ES8s and prioritized battery manufacturing capacity for the recalled vehicles, thus significantly affected its production and delivery results.

What's more, the challenging economy and overall auto market climate in China still influenced NIO’s performance. By the end of July, the world’s largest auto market has confronted year-on-year decrease in monthly automobile sales volume for the 13th month in a row. Besides, the uncertainty also exists in NEV sector with a free-fall subsidy amount after a three-month grace period ended June 25.

The startup has been all over the news lately. It recently denied a rumor that said NIO was ready to pull out of the New York Stock Exchange and was planning to re-going public through China's high-tech-focused science and technology innovation board (STAR Market).

In addition, it was also rumored to merge its autonomous driving unit with DiDi Chuxing’s self-driving business, while the plan was afterwards denied by the ride-hailing giant as well.