Motional, an autonomous vehicle technology developer, has reportedly laid off around 550 employees (~40% of staff) and postponed its commercial plans to launch robotaxis until 2026 due to internal restructuring. The company is to focus on refining its technology and improving its business model.

Affected employees ranged across all departments, with cuts in the software, technical program, high-performance computing, remote vehicle assistance, testing, product, safety, cybersecurity, and legal teams. It's also winding down its Venice office (Los Angeles) which was the hub managing the now-suspended Uber Eats delivery operations.

Analyst QuickTake: Hyundai invested nearly USD 1 billion in Motional earlier in May, increasing its stake to 85%, following Aptiv’s decision to reduce its investment due to the high costs of commercializing robotaxi technology. We believe the recent funding would help Motional to further refine its technology and relaunch operations in the future, despite the staff reductions today.