Self-driving tech firm Argo AI lays off about 150 employees

Self-driving tech company Argo AI said it laid off about 150 employees on Thursday.

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 the company’s human resources, recruiting, technical sourcing and communications divisions shared news of their layoffs on their respective LinkedIn profiles.

Argo’s workforce remains at more than 2,000 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.