Self-driving technology company Motional said on Tuesday it will pause robotaxi deployments with ride-hailing firms Uber Technologies UBER-N and Lyft LYFT-Q, while it lays off staff as part of its restructuring process to focus on technology development.
The development comes ahead of electric carmaker Tesla’s unveiling of its robotaxi, dubbed “Cybercab”, on Aug. 8 and as legacy automakers limit spending on expensive autonomous driving technology in the face of regulatory and safety hurdles.
Motional said it has completed more than 100,000 autonomous rides in Las Vegas and food deliveries in Los Angeles.
“Large-scale driverless deployment will not happen overnight. Driverless vehicles will enter the market when the technology has evolved and – just as importantly – when the business case for autonomous deployment is clear,” CEO Karl Iagnemma said in a blog post.
Motional said in a statement it expects “to resume commercial deployments once the unit economics are more favorable”.
Lyft and Uber did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the pause of their partnerships with Motional.
Auto parts supplier Aptiv said last week it would sell its stake in Motional, its joint venture with Hyundai Motor , while the Korean automaker will fund the startup with additional $475-million.
Last month, OpenAI and Khosla Ventures-backed Ghost Autonomy said it was winding down operations, citing an uncertain path to long-term profitability.
As part of Motional’s restructuring process, the startup said it would reduce workforce, focus resources on developing and generalizing its driverless technology “while de-emphasizing near-term commercial deployments and ancillary activities”.
The company declined to provide the numbers of employees to be laid off, but said roles across locations and functions were impacted.