Florida, May 20: Luminar, a LiDAR and self-driving tech developer, announced job cuts amid ongoing struggles after its CEO, Austin Russell's sudden resignation and departure from the company. The US-based company has implemented the latest round of Luminar layoffs as part of ongoing restructuring efforts. Luminar CEO Austin Russell founded the company in 2012 to focus on safe autonomous tech and functionality in cars, trucks and robotaxis. 

The founder and CEO Austin Russell left Luminar after board members conducted an inquiry on the "code of business and ethics." The Luminar board initiated an inquiry, which soon resulted in CEO Austin Russell leaving the company. After his resignation, Paul Ricci, who was the former CEO of Nuance Communications, became the successor. Westpac Layoffs: Banking Corp To Lay Off Around 1,500 Employees To Simplify Operations With Cost-Cutting Goals.

Luminar layoffs in 2024 affected 30% of the company's workforce amid broader restructuring and cost-cutting efforts. Last year, the layoffs reportedly cut 212 jobs. During that time, Austin Russell said it was difficult to let some of the employees go as they had been part of the journey for a long time. 

In 2025, the exact number of employees affected by the workforce reduction has not yet been disclosed. However, the company said that the implementation of the latest round began on May 15, 2025. The job cuts are expected to cost the company USD 4 million to USD 5 million in cash charges. The company will bear this cost in the second or third quarters of this year, according to a report by TechCrunch.

Luminar reportedly announced layoffs amid difficulties after Austin Russell suddenly left his position as Chief Executive Officer. The board member only informed that Russell's departure was related to the ethics inquiry and did not provide further information. The report mentioned that board member Jun Hong Heng also resigned on the day the leadership changes started. However, he said that his action was unrelated to the board's disagreements or the company's policies, practices or operations. Tech Layoffs Fear: Bengaluru-Based 30-Year-Old Developer Afraid of Taking Home Loan Amid Fear and Uncertainty of Losing Job Due to AI, Looks for Alternate Ways To Earn.

The report mentioned that CEO Austin Russell became a billionaire in 2021 when his LiDAR startup, Luminar, went public through a merger with the special purpose acquisition company Gores Metropoulos Inc. The deal gave Luminar a market value of USD 3.4 billion. Before going public, the company had already raised USD 250 million.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 21, 2025 12:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).