Luminar cuts headcount by 20%, outsources lidar production

LiDAR company Luminar is cutting its workforce by 20% and will increase its reliance on contract manufacturing partners as part of a restructuring to scale production and move to a more “asset-light” business model.

The layoffs will affect approximately 140 employees and will begin immediately. Luminar will also cut ties with the “vast majority” of its contract employees.

“Today, we find ourselves at the crossroads of two realities: The core of our business is stronger than ever in terms of technology, products, industrialization and commercialization. Market perceptions have never been more demanding,” billionaire founder and CEO Austin Russell said in the article. letter Published on Luminar’s website. “[T]The business model and cost structure that enabled us to achieve this leadership position no longer fits the company’s needs. ”

Russell wrote in the letter that the reorganization will allow Luminar to bring products to market faster, “significantly reduce” costs and improve the company’s profitability. The company told regulators: filing The changes will reduce operating costs by “$50 million to $65 million on an annual basis,” it said. The company is also reducing its global footprint “by subletting certain facilities in whole or in part.”

Luminar will continue to operate its Florida facility used for development, testing and research and development, spokeswoman Milin Mehta said.

In April, Luminar announced that it had begun shipping mass-produced LiDAR sensors to Volvo, which will be incorporated into the automaker’s EX90 luxury SUV. The company also announced plans to deepen its relationship with Taiwanese contract manufacturing company TPK Holding. TPK “committed to an exclusive relationship with Luminar,” Russell wrote in his letter.