Luminar is cutting jobs, losing its CFO, and warning of a cash shortage

Lidar-maker Luminar is warning shareholders that it will run out of cash in early 2026 and has announced a 25% cut to its workforce to help staunch the bleeding — its second layoff of the year — according to a Friday regulatory filing.

It’s not immediately clear how many workers will be affected. Luminar started the year with around 580 employees, but the company did not specify the size of the layoff earlier this year. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company also announced its chief financial officer, Thomas Fennimore, is stepping down on November 13 “to pursue other career opportunities.” Luminar said Fennimore’s departure is “not the result of any disagreement” about its finances or with the company’s auditors.

This all comes as founder Austin Russell — who was replaced as CEO in May following an unspecified ethics inquiry by the board of directors’ audit committee — is in the middle of an effort to buy the company. That buyout was encouraged by at least some of the board members, as TechCrunch previously reported.

Luminar has struggled in part because it has sold fewer lidar sensors to Volvo, which was supposed to be a major customer. In August, Fennimore said Luminar was therefore selling the sensors at a lower cost than it takes to build them.

Luminar said Friday that it has $72 million of cash and marketable securities as of October 24. Without any additional fundraising, the current burn rate means Luminar could run out of money as early as the first quarter of next year, or breach the terms of certain loan agreements.

On Friday, Luminar revealed it had already skipped required quarterly interest payments on certain loans that were due October 15. Those lenders have agreed to give Luminar until November 6 to make the payments before taking any action.

Luminar is not due to report its third-quarter financial results for another two weeks, but on Friday, it revealed it expects to report around $18 million of revenue and debt of $429 million.