Self-driving tech company Argo AI laid off an undisclosed number of employees Thursday.
The company declined to say how many employees were let go. A source with direct knowledge of the layoffs said they affected a mid-single-digit percentage of the company’s overall work force.
In a written statement, an Argo spokesperson said the layoffs were part of “prudent adjustments to our business plan” as the company plotted for future growth.
Former Argo employees who worked in human resources, recruiting, technical sourcing and communications divisions shared news of their layoffs Thursday on their respective LinkedIn profiles.
Argo’s work force remains at more than 1,600 employees across the globe, according to the spokesperson.
The Pittsburgh-based company has developed and launched new operations at a fast clip over the past year.
In September, it started a partnership with Walmart that focused on delivery services in Miami, Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas. That came in the same month Argo began autonomous testing in Munich.
In December, Argo partnered with Lyft and Ford on launching ride-hailing service in Miami, a city that’s been at the forefront of the company’s overall AV efforts for years. Two months ago, Argo started testing AVs without human safety drivers behind the wheel in Miami.
Layoffs would not hinder the growth of those partnerships, the Argo spokesperson said, nor slow any of the company’s plans to develop commercial services around its self-driving systems.
Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen Group are major investors in Argo.
