Luminar to cut nearly 20% jobs as part of restructuring

LUMINAR Technologies, a maker of lidar sensors for self-driving cars, said on Friday (May 3) that it would cut its workforce by about 20 per cent, as part of a restructuring plan for the current year.

As at December last year, the company had nearly 800 full-time employees in the US, Germany, Sweden, India and China.

Luminar is also looking to sub-lease some of its facilities in portions or fully, reducing global footprint as part of the restructuring.

The plan will be implemented immediately and lead to an annual reduction in operating costs by US$50 million to US$65 million post completion by this year’s end, the company said.

The company launched its latest lidar sensor, Halo, in April, partnering with auto-software maker Applied Intuition to aid car makers in testing their assisted-driving systems.

Lidar sensors help self-driving cars and driver-assistance systems gain a three-dimensional map of the road, and is considered a key to achieving full autonomy in vehicles. REUTERS