British electric vehicle startup Arrival SA said on Monday it would lay off 50% of its staff, bringing the total headcount down to about 800 employees.

The startup has faced difficulties raising funds and had announced shifting its focus to the United States to minimize costs leveraging benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act.

The company also appointed Igor Torgov, who joined in February 2020, as its chief executive officer, effective immediately.

With the layoffs and other cost reductions, the company said its cost of operating the business will halve to about $30 million per quarter.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)