A CMU trucking technology spinout that wound up moving its headquarters to Austin, Texas, ahead of going public, has closed the business unit that continued to handle testing in Pittsburgh and cut 175 employees, two-thirds of its workforce.
But a spokesperson for Hyliion Holdings Corp. said the company isn’t pulling out of southwestern Pennsylvania.
“Currently, we are retaining our Pittsburgh operations with a limited number of individuals,” Valentina Khalimon said via email.
Hyliion did not provide any other information, including how many people it employs here.
Hyliion (NYSE:HYLN) makes parts for electric trucks. Its CEO, Thomas Healy, founded the company in 2015 while he was still a student at Carnegie Mellon University.
The company relocated to the Austin metro in 2018, a year after opening an office there, and went public in 2020 by merging with a special purpose acquisition company. Hyliion initially made powertrains for tractor trailers that cut down on fuel consumption. In 2022, it bought KARNO, a fuel agnostic generator, from General Electric Co. for $37 million.
The Austin Business Journal, a sister publication, reported that Hyliion is focusing on the commercialization of KARNO and plans to wind down the powertrain business while preserving its technology "to better align its workforce with the company's future needs and to reduce the company's operating costs."
Last year, Healy was among six alumni elected by CMU’s board as new voting trustees.
