Autonomous delivery startup Nuro to lay off 30% of workforce

Autonomous delivery robot startup Nuro will lay off 30%, or about 340 employees, across the company as part of a restructuring meant to extend its capital runway, according to the company.

Earlier this week, Nuro co-founders Dave Ferguson and Jiajun Zhu explained in a blog post that the company would cut staff and shift resources away from commercial operations and toward R&D. Nuro will pause plans to ramp up commercial operations this year and delay volume production of its Nuro bot — the third-generation, or R3, delivery robot designed to be the flagship of its commercial strategy. Nuro will be able to operate twice as long by making these changes, giving it enough capital to operate another three years without raising more money, according to Ferguson and Zhu.

This is the second time in less than a year that Nuro — a darling of the AV world that has raised $2.13 billion — has laid off workers in a bid to cut costs and extend capital runway. In November, Nuro laid off about 300 people, or 20%, of its workforce.

Laid off employees will receive 12 weeks of severance, plus two additional weeks for employees with two or more years of tenure. Eligible employees will also receive 62.5% of target bonus (prorated for new hires) or payment of spring bonus amounts for employees on a biannual performance bonus. The company will also provide healthcare through September 30 and support to employees who hold visas.