Hyundai’s electric vertical takeoff and landing startup Supernal is relocating its global headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Irvine, California, and asking about three dozen workers to move, according to information obtained by TechCrunch. The company is requesting around 5% of its total workforce, approximately 35 to 40 people, to make the move to California. While Supernal did not disclose how many employees will remain in D.C., the majority of those located there will be affected. Data from LinkedIn and a source who wished to remain anonymous revealed that around 45 people currently work for Supernal in the D.C. area.
This change comes slightly over a year after Supernal established a 28,000-square-foot office in D.C. The company had previously mentioned that it had spent more than a year developing the three-story office with the goal of creating a workplace that would inspire and provide comfort to employees. Supernal also opened an “engineering headquarters” in Irvine and an “R&D headquarters” in Fremont, California around the same time. Jaiwon Shin, president of Hyundai Motor Group and CEO of Supernal, stated in a message to TechCrunch that the decision to relocate was made to improve collaboration and communication among teams.
Shin added that the D.C. office will continue to serve as a center for policy and regulatory efforts, emphasizing that this change will not impact Supernal’s plans to introduce an eVTOL service in 2028. Hyundai has been developing eVTOL technology for years, but announced in December 2021 that it would separate its urban air mobility division into a distinct business entity named Supernal. The division has expanded to include around 700 employees over the years.
The eVTOL industry is still evolving as companies strive to transform the concept of flying taxis into a viable business. Volocopter has been facing financial struggles for months, while Lilium closed down in October. On the other hand, Toyota recently invested an additional $500 million in Joby Aviation as it aims for a commercial launch in 2025.
