TuSimple to restructure US business, lay off 30% staff (May 18)

(This May 18 story has been corrected to say that the company will reduce its global workforce by 30%, not the U.S. workforce, in paragraph 1)

(Reuters) – TuSimple Holdings Inc said on Thursday it will cut 30% of its global workforce under a restructuring as the autonomous driving technology company looks to preserve its balance sheet amid a funding crunch in the sector.

The shares of the company fell more than 8% in premarket trading.

The San Diego-based company also said it is no longer seeking strategic alternatives for its Asia Pacific business, backtracking on plans it announced in March last year for the unit.

Industry executives and investors have been worried about the funding poured into the self-driving technology sector at a time when access to capital has been tight.

The restructuring is expected to cost the company between $12 million and $13 million, it said in a statement, adding that the layoffs will only impact its employees in the U.S.

The move comes days after the firm received a delisting notice from Nasdaq for not filing its quarterly report on time.

TuSimple said following restructuring it would continue to retain its level 4 technology development capabilities and focus on autonomous freight transportation technology.

It follows a restructuring the company announced in December and cut about 350 jobs.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza and Shweta Agarwal)

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