Aurora Innovation, the autonomous vehicle technology company that aims to launch a “driverless” autonomous truck business by the end of 2024, laid off dozens of workers this month, according to sources familiar with the action. The Pittsburgh-based company, which also has facilities in California, Colorado, Texas and Montana, has since confirmed that about 3% of its workforce was laid off earlier in the year, following an organizational review.
Aurora employed about 1,800 workers at the end of 2023, according to the company.
“As we move toward commercial launch, we recently reviewed the entire organization to ensure we are working as effectively as possible and with the speed necessary to achieve our ambitious goals,” according to an emailed statement attributed to SVP of Aurora staff, Christopher Barrett. . “Through this process, a limited number of roles were eliminated, affecting 3 percent of our total workforce. During recent market uncertainty, we have been incredibly thoughtful in our allocation of resources to minimize such actions. “We are grateful for the contributions of these individuals and support them during this transition.”
The layoffs come as Aurora presses ahead with plans to deploy a fleet of autonomous trucks that can travel on American roads without a human driver at the wheel. The company has said it hopes to launch up to 20 driverless Class 8 trucks by the end of 2024. Initially, these driverless trucks — meaning without a human behind the wheel — will transport cargo between Dallas and Houston, a route the company has been using during testing.
Aurora is also working with auto supplier Continental on a more than $300 million project to mass produce autonomous vehicle hardware for self-driving commercial trucks. Aurora recently concluded the first phase of the project, allowing Continental to work on prototype development ahead of its plan to begin production in 2027.
Developing autonomous vehicle technology that is safe enough to operate on public roads has proven to be an expensive undertaking that has led to the closure or acquisition of numerous startups. That wave of consolidation began in 2020 and persisted, thanks to economic headwinds, well into 2023.
Aurora, who was founded in 2017 by alumni of Tesla, Uber and Waymo, took the path to the public markets in an attempt to raise the capital necessary to commercialize the cutting-edge technology. Aurora became a publicly traded company in 2021 after merging with a special purpose acquisition company launched by LinkedIn co-founder and investor Reid Hoffman, Zynga founder Mark Pincus, and managing partner Michael Thompson.
Aurora has become one of the last remaining companies focused on the commercialization of large autonomous trucks. privately held Kodiak Robotics; Torc Robotics; and Sweden's Einride are also working on autonomous trucks. Still, it hasn't always been the easiest path, as the high cost of employing engineers to develop the technology, combined with economic obstacles, has eroded capital.
In 2022, a leaked memo sent by Aurora CEO and co-founder Chris Urmson presented its board of directors with a series of cost-cutting and cash-generation options, ranging from freezing hiring and distributing assets to a small increase of capital, going private and even selling to high-profile technology companies such as Apple and Microsoft.
The company assured investors it had enough money to see it through mid-2024, and while some cost reductions were made, real relief came in July 2023 when it completed an $820 million capital raise from a simultaneous public and private offering of its shares.
The company said at the time that the share sale would help finance it through its commercial launch in late 2024 and “well into 2025.” Aurora reiterated its financial position in its third-quarter 2023 earnings report and said it expects its total liquidity of $1.5 billion to support its planned commercial launch and financing operations in the second half of 2025.
