Documents filed with the state shed additional light on how the end of Ford Motor Co.'s self-driving experiment is impacting Austin.
News emerged Oct. 26 that Argo AI LLC, the Pittsburgh-based autonomous driving company backed by Ford (NYSE: F) and Volkswagen AG, was shutting down.
The same day, Argo informed the state of Texas that up to 78 employees in Austin will be affected. Those documents were made public Oct. 31.
Some job cuts were expected as early as Nov. 1. However, it's possible that some of the affected workers will keep working through the wind-down process and some could transition into new roles with different companies, especially as Ford and VW seek a buyer for Argo's lidar business.
Argo said the impacted workers in Austin fall into four categories:
• Immediately terminated employees, who were let go as soon as Nov. 1.
• A transfer group that will continue to work for Argo until being "transferred to a new company, ultimately separate from Argo." If they choose not to remain at the company, these jobs could end as soon as Nov. 15.
• The lidar group could work for Argo through December, or if employees decide not to stick around, jobs could be cut as soon as Nov. 30.
• A wind down group working through at least Dec. 31.
The company did not explain the breakdown for how the 78 employees fit into the four groups. A representative for Argo did not respond to a request for comment. The impacted Argo offices are at 4708 E. Seventh St., 4800 E. Seventh St. and 501 Congress Ave., Suite 150.
Argo said it informed the state about the job cuts because they possibly fall under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
Argo had just announced a few months ago that it had autonomous vehicles operating in Austin and Miami.
Austin has long been at the forefront of driverless vehicle development. The Google unit that later became Waymo was testing autonomous vehicles in Austin as far back as 2015, and the city was the site of its first completely autonomous trip.
In September, the driverless ridesharing company Cruise LLC, which is backed by General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Honda, announced plans to launch in Austin. And Lyft Inc. said later that month it had started autonomous rides in the Texas capital.
