Sources say around 40% of employees, approximately 550, were let go in recent restructuring at Motional.

Motional, the autonomous vehicle company, is facing major layoffs affecting around 550 employees as it undergoes restructuring. The company has paused commercial operations and delayed plans to launch a robotaxi service with its next-gen Hyundai Ioniq 5 robotaxis until 2026.

High-level departures include the company’s chief operating officer, Abe Ghabra, and the technical program management team dealing with autonomy and cloud operations has been significantly reduced. Offices in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles are being wound down, and teams working on remote vehicle assistance, testing, product, safety, cybersecurity, and legal aspects have been heavily cut.

The layoffs come as Motional faces financial challenges, with its future put into doubt earlier this year when Aptiv announced plans to reduce its ownership interest. Hyundai recently injected $475 million into the company, but significant cuts were still needed to survive.

Employees who were laid off will receive paychecks for 10 weeks with their last day slated for July 6. The company is offering “garden leave” payments every two weeks instead of a lump sum severance, and employees with vested equity will have to wait for a new share price to be determined before being paid out.

The layoffs at Motional reflect broader challenges in the autonomous vehicle industry, as companies struggle to sustain the high costs of developing and commercializing the technology.