Lidar company Luminar is cutting its workforce by 20% and will rely more heavily on its contract manufacturing partner as part of a restructuring that will shift the company to a more “lean business model” as it aims to scale up production.
The cuts will affect approximately 140 employees and begin immediately. Luminar is also cutting ties with the “majority” of its contract workers.
“Today, we are at the crossroads of two realities: the core of our business has never been stronger in terms of technology, products, industrialization and commercialization. but at the same time our firm’s take on capital markets has never been more challenging,” billionaire founder and CEO Austin Russell said in a letter posted on the Luminar website. “[T]The business model and cost structure that allowed us to achieve this leadership position no longer fit the company’s needs.”
Russell wrote in the letter that the restructuring will allow Luminar to bring products to market faster, “drastically reduce” costs and better position the company for profitability. The company told a regulator archiving that the changes will reduce operating costs “by $50 million to $65 million annually.” The company is also reducing its global footprint “by subleasing parts or all of certain facilities.”
Luminar will continue to operate its Florida facility, which is used for development, testing and research and development, according to spokeswoman Milin Mehta.
Luminar announced in April that it had begun production of lidar sensors at Volvo to be incorporated into the automaker’s EX90 luxury SUV. It also announced plans to deepen its relationship with Taiwanese contract maker TPK Holding. TPK is “committed to an exclusive relationship with Luminar,” Russell wrote in his letter.
