Sweden’s Heart Aerospace has begun a redundancy process that could see around 70 staff members depart.
Heart, which is developing a 30-seat hybrid-electric aircraft called the ES-30, recently announced it had secured $107 million in Series B funding, taking the total raised since its inception to $145 million.
While confirming that it has begun the redundancy process, Heart declines to specify the number of affected employees. Local media reports suggest up to 70 roles could be axed.
“Heart will shift its strategic focus to speed up the development of its hybrid-electric powertrain and internal Heart-led innovation,” says the company.
“We are adjusting our organisation to match these plans. Our focus is firmly on getting a product to market before the end of the decade that delivers on our value proposition.”
At the end of 2022, the most recent year for which figures are publicly available, Heart had 138 employees. However, local media reports put the current figure closer to 200.
Heart declines to say which roles are under threat, or if it will recruit more propulsion specialists to reflect the change in focus.
It plans to unveil a full-scale demonstrator of the ES-30 this year, as it targets certification in 2028.
Heart holds 250 orders for the ES-30 – including from Air Canada and United Airlines – with options and purchase rights for an additional 120 aircraft, plus letters of intent for a further 191 examples.
