(Yicai) Dec. 12 -- Jiyue Auto has dismissed several departments, suspended employees’ social security payments for last month, and delayed salaries for December, according to the chief executive of the Chinese smart car brand set up by tech giant Baidu and carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

Jiyue is facing difficulties and needs to make adjustments at once, Xia Yiping said in a video sent to all staffers yesterday. The firm should adhere to long-term investments in core technologies, enhance sales and services capabilities to deal with market competition, merge divisions to improve efficiency, and shut down projects that will be unprofitable in the short term, he added.

In the past two days, insiders at the Jiyue leaked information about shareholders having decided to halt investments and about the company closing its finished vehicle business. Jiyue had earlier rebutted online rumors about mass layoffs and executive resignations, claiming it was operating normally.

Jiyue was founded in March 2021, with Baidu holding a 45 percent stake and Geely the remaining 55 percent. In August, Baidu cut its stake to 35 percent.

In 2022, Jiyue Auto raised nearly USD400 million in a Series A fundraiser from Baidu and Geely. It released its first concept car, the Jiyue Robo-01, in June of that year and renamed it Jiyue 01 last October. Its only other model on the market is the Jiyue 07.

Jiyue sold an average of 1,171 cars a month between December last year and November this year, for a total of 14,055. In comparison, rivals Li Auto, Xpeng Motor, and Xiaomi Auto delivered 48,700, 30,900, and over 20,000 autos, respectively, last month alone.

Xia predicted in October last year that Jiyue would have had over 100 stores by the end of 2023 and more than 250 by the end of 2024. But as of Nov. 30, the company had only 140 stores.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione