Redwood Materials lays off 10% in restructuring to chase energy storage business

Redwood Materials has laid disconnected astir 135 employees, oregon astir 10% of its workforce, arsenic it restructures to amended accommodate its increasing vigor retention business, TechCrunch has learned.

The cuts travel conscionable 5 months aft Redwood cut 5% of its workforce, and 3 months aft it closed a $425 cardinal backing circular that boosted the artillery recycling company’s valuation to northbound of $6 billion, arsenic TechCrunch previously reported.

It’s been a hard clip successful the artillery manufacture lately. Earlier this month, artillery recycler Ascend Elements filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing “insurmountable” fiscal challenges. Some battery-makers person besides restructured oregon gone retired of concern arsenic the automotive manufacture successful the U.S. has backed distant from its astir optimistic and ambitious plans to modulation to electrical vehicles.

But Redwood Materials laminitis and CEO JB Straubel told employees that this caller circular of cuts is not a motion that the institution is heading down the aforesaid path.

“Redwood contiguous is the strongest it’s ever been,” Straubel wrote successful an email to the workers who weren’t laid off, according to a transcript viewed by TechCrunch. “The materials concern is good connected its mode to profitability and has an breathtaking roadmap ahead.”

Straubel noted that Redwood “continue[s] to predominate the US artillery recycling market” but besides touted the company’s “great momentum” successful its caller energy retention business. Redwood has precocious announced deals with Crusoe AI and, astir recently, electrical automaker Rivian to supply recycled batteries that tin beryllium utilized to powerfulness those companies’ facilities. The institution declined to remark beyond the contents of Straubel’s email.

In his message, Straubel wrote that “parts of the institution person expanded faster than needed to enactment the direction” of Redwood. As a result, helium said Redwood is making cuts crossed aggregate divisions, including the engineering and operations organizations, according to an worker who was granted anonymity to sermon the layoffs.

“We are assured that we tin present connected our captious projects with a smaller squad that is much focused,” helium wrote. “We person successfully adapted to changes successful the marketplace that person bankrupted galore of our competitors.”

Straubel went connected to constitute that helium is “more excited than ever with our way up arsenic we physique the astir integrated and cost-effective captious materials and vigor retention concern successful the world.”

“This is simply a self-sustaining concern and volition proceed to marque this institution much invaluable implicit time. We person the squad and the exertion to bash what nary different institution can,” helium wrote.

Workers who were laid disconnected were told by Redwood’s main HR serviceman that the layoffs were made “to sharpen our focus, our enactment and the size of our teams to enactment the absorption Redwood is going successful the future,” according to a transcript of her email, which was viewed by TechCrunch.

Employees who were laid disconnected are receiving severance and paid wellness benefits, according to Straubel’s email, arsenic good arsenic “career modulation assistance.”

“I americium grateful to the astir 135 employees who we accidental goodbye to contiguous — they’ve each contributed to gathering Redwood,” helium wrote.