INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
China-based electric car startup Byton has furloughed about half of the 450 employees who work at its North American headquarters in Santa
Clara, Calif., putting the release date of the automaker upcoming M-Byte vehicle into question.
Byton told TechCrunch the furloughs were the
result of the COVID-19 pandemic
The intention is to bring these furloughed employees back, the company said without providing a timeline.
Given the impact of the pandemic
on the global economy and the auto industries we, like several companies, have had to take action to face the challenge,& a Byton
spokesperson wrote in an email to TechCrunch
&The furloughs have affected all areas within Byton United States operations
Employees in China have not been furloughed.
Electrek was the first to report the furloughs.
The furloughs come as the company is preparing
to bring its M-Byte electric SUV into volume production later this year
The vehicle, perhaps best known for its massive 48-inch wraparound digital dashboard, will be produced at Byton factory in Nanjing, China
The M-Byte will be sold in China, the United States and Europe.
Byton previously said sales will begin in China in the second half of 2020,
followed by the United States The vehicle will come to the first European markets in the first half of 2021
However, the COVID-19 pandemic — and the ensuing furloughs and cuts — could delay Byton timeline.
Byton told TechCrunch it is evaluating
the impact of COVID-19 on production of the M-Byte
Byton China factory reopened in mid-February and is now nearly fully operational, according to the company.
Byton has raised about $820
million from investors that include the company founding team,FAW Group, Nanjing Qiningfeng New Energy Industry Investment Fund and
CATL.
The startup has been working to close a Series C round of fundraising for months now
The company told TechCrunch it is in the &final stage& of the round, which will include investors FAW Group and the industrial investment
fund of Nanjing municipal government, Myoung Shin Co
of South Korea, MS Autotech and Japanese enterprise Marubeni Corporation .
