Canoo’s California Exodus: CTO Departs as EV Startup Moves Headquarters to Texas Amid Restructuring

Canoo is set to move from its initial base in California and is also undergoing a change in its founding leadership team, as per two distinct articles from TechCrunch.

On Thursday, the site revealed that during a company-wide assembly, Canoo announced the shutdown of its Los Angeles office, which was the primary hub for the electric vehicle newcomer since its inception in 2017. Canoo intends to move its main operations to Justin, Texas, a location where it has held a business office since CEO Tony Aquila assumed leadership a couple of years back.

Delivery Van by Canoo adorned with Walmart branding

According to TechCrunch, Canoo once attempted to relocate its main office to Bentonville, Arkansas, during negotiations with Walmart, which resulted in the retail giant placing an order for 4,500 electric vans from the emerging company in 2022. Additionally, Canoo has made efforts to establish a modest manufacturing site in Arkansas, while planning for mass production to occur in Oklahoma.

According to TechCrunch, Canoo has made no significant progress in accelerating its production since its 2021 announcement. However, the company is presenting a choice to 137 out of 194 staff members at its Los Angeles office to move to Oklahoma or Texas, while the rest will face termination.

United States Postal Service Canoo Light Delivery Vehicle model 190

The closure of the L.A. branch was widely anticipated by the staff, the study suggests, particularly following the departure of Canoo's co-founder and principal designer Richard Kim in 2023. TechCrunch disclosed on Friday, based on information from two confidential informants, that CTO Sohel Merchant is also exiting the firm. This departure means that only one of the initial leaders who established Canoo, chief engineer Christoph Kuttner, remains onboard.

Originally, Canoo focused on offering a trendy electric vehicle through a subscription model, yet shifted its direction towards business-oriented vehicles with CEO Aquila at the helm. The company has supplied its vehicles for trials to prestigious clients like NASA, the U.S. Postal Service, and the U.S. Army, although it has yet to generate significant production volumes of its electric vehicles. Earlier in the year, Canoo revealed that it had acquired the assets of the defunct electric vehicle startup Arrival, which includes production machinery that may assist in escalating its manufacturing capabilities.

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