Hyundai’s Supernal startup laying off 53 in California as it pivots flying taxis to production

Hyundai s Supernal electric vertical takeoff and landing startup is cutting of its workforce in California as it shifts toward certification of its aircraft and eventual production RELATED Intel chops several hundred Bay Area tech jobs as chipmaker retrenches The company which moved its headquarters to Irvine from Washington D C two years ago is cutting about employees at Supernal s Orange County operations along Laguna Canyon Road and Waterworks Way through Aug according to a filing made with the state s Employment Evolution Department The company also is laying off workers at its Fremont facility in the Bay Area and a single employee at the company s Mojave facility where a demonstration flight test of Supernal s electric air taxi apparatus is to take place later this year The layoffs which began June are expected to be permanent the filing reported Following the cuts Supernal will have workers https wpdash medianewsgroup com wp-content uploads S-A -Features-and-Benefits Subtitles mp The primary reason for this reduction in force is organizational realignment from the equipment maturation phase to the product growth phase of our business explained Supernal spokesman Veronica Grigoriou The decision is not one we made lightly and was undertaken after careful consideration of our roadmap available tools and goals for the remainder of the year Related Articles Intel eyes hundreds more Bay Area job cuts as tech layoffs worsen Who hires the majority of UC alumni New input shows the top employers of graduates Applied Materials property buying binge in South Bay tops million with new deal California-based EV truck maker shifting operations to Michigan Alcohol distributor Republic National laying off hundreds in Bay Area as it exits state She reported the company is actively working through a certification process for its device with the Federal Aviation Administration with the application process beginning in and a specific design of an aircraft called type certification expected for approval by Our schedule has not been impacted by these changes Our production aircraft is slated to begin deliveries in the end of Grigoriou commented The company has yet to determine a production site for its flying taxis The company conducted tethered flight tests in March but plans untethered tests at its Mojave facility later this year RELATED Joby Aviation expands Monterey County site adds sixth aircraft to its test fleet The layoffs follow last year s hiring of a key NASA employee to develop a prototype In March Supernal named David McBride as chief device officer McBride who formerly worked with NASA on several space missions with the space agency s Flight Research Initiative remains with the company In July Supernal LLC which is South Korea automaker Hyundai Motor Group s Advanced Air Mobility company opened an engineering headquarters in Irvine to research a flying taxi The layoffs targeted a wide range of positions in order to aid Supernal s long-term strategic goals and priorities according to a June letter filed with the EDD by Hyunsik Kim head of human materials with Supernal Positions included battery cell test engineers electrical and wiring manager head of input information tool coordinator senior electric power distribution engineer manager of intelligent flight and technical project coordinator The filings were made as part of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act commonly referred to as WARN which are required when an employer lays off more than employees All affected employees are notified at least days before their terminations are scheduled to occur according to Kim Electric taxi concepts lift off vertically and don t need a runway creating a niche for air trip in a crowded urban landscape Once these aircraft take off in the air like a helicopter their engines and propellers tilt to fly like an airplane Supernal isn t the only manufacturer working on an electric flying taxi Others include San Jose-based Archer Aviation Santa Cruz-based Joby Aviation and Mountain View-based Wisk Aero a subsidiary of aerospace giant Boeing Co