Self-driving truck tech company to lay off hundreds of workers in effort to cut costs

One of the nation’s most prominent autonomous truck companies plans to lay off more than 200 workers, according to a Friday announcement.

According to a March 3 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, San Francisco-headquartered Embark Trucks will lay off approximately 230 workers.

“The decision was based on cost-reduction initiatives intended to reduce operating expenses,” the SEC filing states.

TechCrunch reports that the workers were informed of the layoffs on Friday morning.

The SEC filing also indicates that Embark’s Board of Directors will explore alternative sources of financing and even “potential dissolution or winding up of the Company and liquidation of its assets.”

Over the past year, Embark has publicly demonstrated a few major milestones in the development of viable commercial application of self-driving semis. In August 2022, Embark shared video of the “first-ever public demonstration of an autonomous truck being pulled over by law enforcement and participating in a routine traffic stop on a public highway.”

In May 2022, the company announced that it had successfully completed “industry-first autonomous testing in winter conditions” using Embark-powered trucks traveling on a 60 mile round trip route on public roads between Clinton and Missoula, Montana in varying winter weather situations. 

Embark trucks was founded in 2016 and describes itself as “the longest running self-driving truck program in America.”