Shares of autonomous truck startup Embark Technology Inc. plunged Monday after the company announced mass layoffs and said it may shut down.
Boarding shares EMBK,
it plunged 33% and is down 97% in the past 12 months, closing Monday’s regular session at $2.56 after trading as high as $134 last April.
In a letter to employees Friday that was published on Medium, Embark co-founder and CEO Alex Rodrigues said the company was laying off 70% of its workforce and winding down day-to-day operations.
“Capital markets have turned their backs on companies without revenue, just as manufacturers’ timelines have delayed the prospect of large-scale commercial rollout,” he wrote.
“After extensively evaluating all alternatives, we have been unable to identify a path forward for the business in its current form,” Rodrigues continued. “Over the next few weeks, we will work closely with Embark’s board of directors to assess our options, including asset sales, restructuring of the company, or full closure.”
San Francisco-based Embark went public in November 2021 via a SPAC merger with a valuation of about $5.2 billion. His goal was to transform the trucking industry through autonomous driving software, and he hoped to create a nationwide network of long-distance autonomous trucks.