Chinese-owned luxury carmaker Lotus said Thursday that it planned to cut up to 550 UK jobs, in part over uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

The layoffs represent over forty percent of its 1,300 employees in Britain.

Lotus said the restructuring was necessary to "secure a sustainable future," citing the "rapidly evolving automotive environment, which is seeing uncertainty with rapid changes in global policies, including tariffs."

The carmaker, which is majority owned by Chinese auto giant Geely, has several sites in the UK, including its headquarters in Hethel, eastern England.

Another Lotus factory is in Wuhan, China.

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