Byton is suspending most operations, including production at its factory in Nanjing, China, from July 1 to raise new funds and issue cost-cutting measures in a bid to deal with the heavy blow from the coronavirus pandemic.

The EV start-up company, which has reportedly furloughed half of its US-based employees since April, is faced with unpaid staff salaries, adding that it will start paying its employees from July.

Byton is inviting employees to resign in order to receive priority in being paid.

“The new coronavirus epidemic has brought great challenges to Byton’s financing and production operations,” Byton said in a statement.“After careful consideration and joint consultations with our shareholders and management, we have decided to, from July 1, kickstart a plan to lower employee costs and promote the company’s strategic reorganization.”

During its so-called “strategic restructuring”, Byton will retain some employees for a minimum basic operation, according to Bloomberg.

Byton’s original plan was to launch the M-Byte electric SUV, which features a massive 48-inch display on the dash, in China by late 2020 and enter the US market in 2021. The company was founded by former BMW and Nissan employees and is backed by China’s FAW Group and battery supplier CATL.

The Byton M-Byte reached the pre-production stage at the company’s Nanjing factory last April, when the first cars rolled off the production line. The electric SUV will be offered in two variants: a single-motor, 72kWh base model with 268 HP and 224 miles (360 km) of range, and a dual-motor, 95 kWh range-topper with 403 HP and 270 miles (435 km) of range under WLTP.