Hundreds of tech-linked job cuts jolt Bay Area, flying car firm fails
Hundreds of job cuts linked to the tech sector have rattled the Bay Area economy, according to official state reports, raising questions about the strength — or weakness — of the region’s employment market.
The layoffs, affecting nearly 300 Bay Area workers, were issued by three companies directly in the tech sector or with close links to the region’s most important industry, the WARN notices filed with state labor officials showed.
Here’s a summary of some of the Bay Area companies that have recently posted WARN notices with the state Employment Development Department:
— Kittyhawk Corp. is cutting 100 jobs in two Bay Area cities: Mountain View and Palo Alto. The Silicon Valley company had been developing a flying car that could take off vertically and had the backing of Google co-founder Larry Page.
— WeDriveU Inc. is cutting 97 positions in the Bay Area, affecting employees in Menlo Park and Newark. The Burlingame-based company provides employee shuttles to major Bay Area employers such as tech companies.
— onsemi, a semiconductor manufacturer, is cutting 88 jobs, all in San Jose, due to a shutdown of a site in the Bay Area’s largest city.
All told, the tech-linked job cuts erased 285 positions in the Bay Area, the EDD filings show.
The flying car venture appears to be the highest-profile firm engulfed by the latest round of staffing reductions. The company had been seeking nothing less than a revolution in how people travel.
“Kittyhawk is building a single-person, remotely-piloted electric aircraft with the goal of making air taxis affordable, ubiquitous and eco-conscious,” the company states on its LinkedIn page. “Founded by self-driving car pioneer Sebastian Thrun and backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, Kittyhawk has been advancing aviation for more than a decade and has built and flown more than 100 aircraft. If anyone can do this, we can.”
Now, however, it appears that some other company will have to take on that mantle.
“We have made the decision to wind down Kittyhawk,” the company stated on its LinkedIn page about a week ago. “We’re still working on the details of what’s next.”
Kittyhawk is closing three locations in Palo Alto, including the corporate headquarters, and another two locations in Mountain View, according to the WARN notice letter written by Mariya Pivtoraiko, general counsel at Kittyhawk.
The first round of job cuts is scheduled for Nov. 2. Additional layoffs are slated to occur by Nov. 30, the WARN letter stated.
“Kttyhawk was not able to give 60-days’ notice to all affected employees,” Pivtoraiko wrote in the letter to the EDD. “However, all affected employees who did not receive a full 60-day notice will be provided with wages and benefits in an amount equal to the compensation and benefits they would have received during the notice period.”
WeDriveU stated that its job cuts were in response to a customer’s cutback in demand for shuttle buses in the Bay Area.
“This planned reduction in staffing is a result of our client’s reduction of transportation services,” Chris Rolletta, vice president of human resources at WeDriveU, stated in a WARN letter.
WeDriveU didn’t identify the client. However, the company’s Menlo Park operation is next to the major locations of at least one high-profile tech firm.
In its notice to the EDD, onsemi stated that the chipmaker intends to completely shut its facility at 1704 Automation Parkway in San Jose.
“All employees at the facility will be impacted,” onsemi stated in the WARN notice. “This closure is expected to be permanent.”