Advertisement
This is member-exclusive content
icon/ui/info filled

businessAutos

Self-driving truck firm TuSimple’s restructuring included 76 layoffs in North Texas

The employees are a part of a restructuring to reduce the California-based firm’s total workforce by 25%.

California-based TuSimple, one of the self-driving trucking firms using Texas as a proving ground, recently laid off 76 employees in North Texas as part of a restructuring plan to reduce its workforce by 25%.

The workers were given a 60-day notice on Dec. 21, according to filings disclosed Monday by the Texas Workforce Commission. The employees reported to the company’s hub at 2370 W. Airfield Dr.

“It’s no secret that the current economic environment is difficult,” TuSimple CEO Cheng Lu said in a statement dated the day the notice was filed. “We must be prudent with our capital and operate as efficiently as possible. While I deeply regret the impact this has on those affected, I believe it is a necessary step as TuSimple continues down our path to commercialization.”

Advertisement

The restructuring eliminated 350 jobs in all, leaving the company with 1,100 employees working mostly in research and development. The company said it plans to scale back freight expansion, especially trucking operations using previous-generation autonomous software that “provides limited value to the company’s ongoing technology development.”

Business Briefing

Become a business insider with the latest news.

Or with:

“This is part of our overall strategy to prioritize investments that bring the most value to shareholders, and position TuSimple as a customer-focused, product-driven organization,” Lu said.

The strategic shift came after TuSimple’s former CEO, Xiaodi Hou, was fired in October after an internal probe showed some employees had ties to and shared information with a China-backed firm, according to Reuters.

Advertisement

Last year, real estate developer Hillwood announced plans for a 1-million-square-foot facility at its 27,000-acre AllianceTexas development in North Fort Worth. In June 2021, TuSimple opened a 2.5-acre logistics hub in AllianceTexas’ innovation zone that created 50 jobs. The site supports shipping routes along the highway system connecting Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

TuSimple, based in San Diego, also has operations in Tucson, Ariz., China and Europe.