Auto retail giant Lithia Motors says it cut about 1,000 jobs

Lithia Motors Inc., now the largest seller of new vehicles in the U.S., appears to have eliminated around 1,000 unspecified positions this year.

The move comes amid lower gross profits on new and used vehicles and as the auto retailer’s same-store new and used vehicle sales slipped in the first quarter compared to a year earlier.

Lithia COO Chris Holzshu, on the company’s first-quarter earnings call last week, said the group has been focused on “right-sizing” in certain pockets that had increased its selling, general and administrative expenses “in a declining [gross profit per unit] environment and sales environment that we had to adapt to.

“Since we last spoke coming off of Q4’s call, we’ve eliminated about 1,000 positions in the field and have right-sized a lot of pay plans, kind of getting folks ready for this new environment that helps us leverage the gross and the net. And so, [in] March actually, we saw a lot of that come through the bottom line and we’re anticipating additional strength coming into Q2.”

Lithia did not comment directly on what type of positions were eliminated, where they were located, when the cuts took place or if they were open positions. The group did divest one dealership in the first quarter.

“At Lithia & Driveway we are a data driven organization and regularly assess staffing to better serve our customers and support our business needs,” the company said in a statement to Automotive News. “To maintain our momentum and growth strategy, we continue to set a culture of high performance, while nimbly responding to the environment with driving efficiencies and managing performance.”

Lithia said that selling, general and administrative expense for the first quarter was $764.4 million, up 3.3 percent from a year earlier and 1.5 percent from the fourth quarter.