Luminar's stock falls as lidar maker plans to lay off 20% of workforce as part of restructuring plan

By Claudia Assis

Restructuring will reduce operating costs by $50 million to $65 million a year, company says

Shares of Luminar Technologies Inc. dropped more than 9% in extended trading Friday after the maker of lidar and other sensors for self-driving vehicles said it was cutting its workforce by 20% as part of a restructuring plan.

Luminar (LAZR) said that Friday's announcement was part of what it had promised in February when it reported fourth-quarter earnings.

The layoffs are intended to "realign" Luminar's workforce with its "highest priorities and core competencies as a company," as well as eliminate redundancies and reduce operating costs, the company said in a regulatory filing.

In a separate filing earlier this year, Luminar said it had nearly 800 full-time employees based mostly in the U.S., Germany, Sweden, India and China as of late December. None of the employees are represented by a labor union, it noted.

As part of the plan, Luminar will also reduce its office footprint by sub-leasing some of its facilities, it said. The actions will start immediately and are expected to be completed by the end of the year, the company said.

Luminar estimated about $6 million to $8 million in cash charges associated with employee severance and related employee costs, mostly to be incurred in the second and third quarters of this year.

The company called for another $2 million to $5 million in losses from sub-leasing facilities, to be incurred over the remainder of the year.

Once completed, the plan will reduce operating costs by $50 million to $65 million a year, of which $20 million to $30 million will be savings in cash costs, Luminar said.

The company is slated to report its first-quarter earnings after the bell Tuesday.

Analysts polled by FactSet expect it to post an adjusted loss of 18 cents a share on sales of $21.2 million. That would compare with an adjusted loss of 24 cents a share on sales of $14.5 million in the first quarter of 2023.

Shares of Luminar are down 50% so far this year, contrasting with gains of around 7.5% for the S&P 500 index SPX.

-Claudia Assis

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05-03-24 1724ET

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