Lilium may have laid off around 1,000 employees, almost all of its staff, on December 20, 2024, according to German digital tech media outlet Gründerszene, which quoted unnamed sources within the company.
According to the reports, only a caretaking team of a few dozen staff members remain at Lilium. However, the information has not been officially confirmed by the troubled eVTOL developer, nor by filings made public by the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC).
Munich-based Lilium had already filed for bankruptcy protection for two of its subsidiaries on October 29, 2024, after the German government denied a support lifeline of €50 million.
Later, on November 6, 2024, Lilium confirmed in an SEC filing that it was talking with several parties interested in acquiring the business or its assets. In that same filing the German firm also confirmed that it was preparing to lay-off 200 workers.
While the prospect of securing additional funding and saving the company appears to worsen by the day, as recently as December 5, 2024, Lilium sent out a press release stating that its aircraft development program continued as usual while appointed financial advisory firm, KPMG, was working on a restructuring plan.