Yuneec is following in the footsteps of 3DR and Parrot, among others. Like them, Yuneec is experiencing a round of layoffs as the drone industry seeks stronger traction in both the commercial and consumer markets.
Marketwatch is reporting that the drone manufacturer confirmed on Friday that it would lay off an undisclosed number of employees in its Americas division. Marketwatch quotes the company as stating, “scale back our business structure to a secure balance between operational costs and revenue,” according to a statement issued by Yuneec. “We concluded that we upsized operations faster than our growth required.” Yuneec is the latest in a series of drone companies to announce layoffs.
Yuneec, which has received funding from Intel, is not unique in ratcheting up manufacturing for a market that has not yet materialized. DJI appears to be the one shining example that to date is immune from the economic pressures of a slowly developing market. The open question that remains is why so many firms got their projections wrong. There may be several reasons not the least of which could be an inability of governments to enact regulations that would safely enable the industry. Training and cost are always barriers to entry of a new technology; but in this case regs (or lack thereof) may also be playing a part.
Frank Schroth is editor in chief of DroneLife, the authoritative source for news and analysis on the drone industry: it’s people, products, trends, and events.
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Frank, great article. Well written, very understandable and interesting. please add me to your e-mailing list. I’d like to see more of your stuff, particularly on these drone-industry “maturation” items.