Hyundai-backed flying EV maker Supernal has swung a wrecking ball through its U.S. staff, cutting roughly 80% of its workforce this week and eliminating several hundred jobs as it pulls engineering and operations more tightly into Southern California. Industry reports say the heaviest round of cuts hit at the end of February, leaving a much smaller core team to rethink the company’s aircraft program and timing.
Major Cuts, Small Core
According to The Air Current, Supernal laid off about 296 employees on Feb. 27 and is hanging on to only about 70 to 80 people to handle essential work. It is by far the most severe reduction at the Hyundai-backed unit, which had already gone through smaller realignments last year.
Leadership Shake-Up And Program Pause
The cuts follow a string of executive departures and mid-2025 personnel reductions that led the company to pause parts of its aircraft program, as reported by TechCrunch. The outlet noted that "the newly appointed leadership will assess and determine the optimal timeline moving forward," leaving Supernal’s schedule for getting a vehicle into service very much in flux.
Testing Troubles And Certification Hurdles
Supernal’s demonstrator has struggled to complete untethered flights at its Mojave test site, and analysts say the company faces a tough road ahead on both certification and production. Still, Hyundai and Supernal continue to stress the automaker’s long-term commitment to advanced air mobility, according to reporting in FLYING - even if the near-term picture now looks a lot less glamorous than the original flying-taxi pitch.
Local Footprint And Job Impact
The layoffs are reshaping Supernal’s California footprint. The company is concentrating engineering work at its Irvine hub while shrinking its presence in Fremont and Mojave after an earlier expansion phase. Supernal opened its Irvine engineering center in 2023, as detailed in a company press release from PR Newswire, and later broadened its Bay Area research and development with a cutting-edge R&D facility in Fremont that is now in the shadow of the retrenchment.
What Comes Next
Analysts say the layoffs could push Supernal further behind competitors that are closer to certification, putting more pressure on the new leadership team to pick clear priorities before any future ramp-up. Hyundai’s backing still gives Supernal more financial runway than some rivals, but the path to commercial service now appears longer and murkier than it did a year ago, according to TechCrunch and other industry observers.
