TuSimple lays off 25% of workforce the in midst of restructuring strategy
Previously, they had 7,000 truck reservations for customers like DHL; now things got more complicated
TuSimple, a self-driving truck technology startup, revealed on Wednesday that it aims to layoff 25% of its workforce as part of a bigger reorganisation strategy to keep the business operational.
The layoffs happened a few weeks ago as a result of TuSimple and Navistar cancelling their partnership to build purpose-built autonomous semi trucks together.
Roughly 350 people will be affected by the layoffs, which follows a difficult year for the company that included multiple CEO changes, numerous federal investigations, a truck accident, and a sharp decline in stock price.
Like many other companies experimenting with cutting-edge technology, TuSimple has struggled to make enough money to cover its expenses. TuSimple’s president and chief executive officer, Cheng Lu, said the economy is in a difficult situation right now and highlighted that the business must be prudent with its money and operate as efficiently as possible. Lu has recently rejoined the company as CEO after having been dismissed earlier this year.
TuSimple is in the process of selling off its Asia-focused company, only employees in the United States will be impacted by the layoffs. There are TuSimple employees in San Diego, Arizona and Texas.
It is unknown which teams will be affected, the remaining employees make up around 80% of the research and development team are in charge of working on hardware and software, resilience, dependability, safety and information security.
The restructuring will cost TuSimple between $10 and $11 million, which will be reflected on the balance sheet for Q4 and paid in the first quarter of 2023. TuSimple restructuring and employment losses will result in annual savings of $55 million to $65 million. TuSimple’s price was $1.42 down 96% from the beginning of the year.
