Luminar kicks off another round of layoffs amid CEO’s sudden resignation

Luminar, the lidar firm based by not too long ago changed CEO Austin Russell, goes via one other restructuring, according to a recent regulatory filing.

This new spherical of layoffs, which the corporate didn’t present figures for, follows in depth cuts to the workforce in 2024. Luminar minimize about 30% of its workforce in 2024, a discount that was anticipated to price $4 million to $6 million in more money prices. A few of these layoffs spilled into the primary quarter of 2025. A complete of 212 staff have been laid off.

In its newest regulatory submitting, the corporate stated it started extra layoffs Could 15. These new layoffs are anticipated to price $4 million to $5 million in money prices. These prices are anticipated to be incurred within the second and third quarters of this 12 months.

The layoffs are the most recent complication for Luminar. Earlier this month, the corporate’s board changed Russell as CEO and board chair. The board issued a press launch saying he resigned as the results of an ethics inquiry with out offering any extra data. Luminar’s board changed Russell and appointed Paul Ricci to the function. Ricci is the previous chairman and CEO of Nuance.

A day after the management change was introduced, board member Jun Hong Heng additionally resigned, according to a regulatory filing, which said his choice was not as a result of any disagreements with the corporate on any matter regarding the corporate’s operations, insurance policies, or practices.

The corporate has not responded to requests for remark.

Russell grew to become a billionaire after his lidar startup Luminar went public in 2021 after the corporate merged with particular function acquisition firm Gores Metropoulos Inc., with a post-deal market valuation of $3.4 billion. Luminar raised $250 million previous to the SPAC announcement.