In San Francisco, reports have emerged stating that Motional, an autonomous vehicle technology company, has terminated approximately 550 employees, which accounts for roughly 40 per cent of its workforce in the US.
According to information from a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN), nearly 145 of the affected employees were based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
TechCrunch reported on Saturday that Motional is halting commercial operations and postponing the launch of a robotaxi service. This decision has had an impact on every team within Motional, including the chief operating officer, Abe Ghabra. Particularly, the team responsible for Motional’s remote vehicle assistance platform has experienced significant reductions.
In a statement, Motional explained that it has revised its strategic plan to prioritize the ongoing development and broadening of its core driverless technology while reducing focus on immediate commercial deployments and related activities.
The statement further expressed gratitude towards the departing team members for their contributions to Motional’s objectives.
Motional is a collaborative effort between Hyundai Motor Group and auto parts supplier Aptiv.
