Redwood Supplies lays off 10% in restructuring to chase power storage enterprise

Redwood Supplies has laid off round 135 staff, or roughly 10% of its workforce, because it restructures to higher accommodate its rising power storage enterprise, TechCrunch has realized.

The cuts come simply 5 months after Redwood cut 5% of its workforceand three months after it closed a $425 million funding spherical that boosted the battery recycling firm’s valuation to north of $6 billion, as TechCrunch previously reported.

It’s been a troublesome time within the battery trade recently. Earlier this month, battery recycler Ascend Parts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protectionciting “insurmountable” monetary challenges. Some battery-makers have additionally restructured or gone out of enterprise because the automotive trade within the U.S. has backed away from its most optimistic and bold plans to transition to electrical automobiles.

However Redwood Supplies founder and CEO JB Straubel informed staff that this new spherical of cuts isn’t an indication that the corporate is heading down the identical path.

“Redwood at this time is the strongest it’s ever been,” Straubel wrote in an e-mail to the employees who weren’t laid off, in line with a replica considered by TechCrunch. “The supplies enterprise is nicely on its method to profitability and has an thrilling roadmap forward.”

Straubel famous that Redwood “proceed(s) to dominate the US battery recycling market” but in addition touted the corporate’s “nice momentum” in its new energy storage business. Redwood has just lately introduced offers with Crusoe AI and, most just lately, electrical automaker Rivian to offer recycled batteries that can be utilized to energy these firms’ amenities. The corporate declined to remark past the contents of Straubel’s e-mail.

In his message, Straubel wrote that “components of the corporate have expanded quicker than wanted to help the course” of Redwood. In consequence, he stated Redwood is making cuts throughout a number of divisions, together with the engineering and operations organizations, in line with an worker who was granted anonymity to debate the layoffs.

“We’re assured that we will ship on our important tasks with a smaller group that’s extra targeted,” he wrote. “We have now efficiently tailored to modifications available in the market which have bankrupted a lot of our opponents.”

Straubel went on to put in writing that he’s “extra excited than ever with our path forward as we construct essentially the most built-in and cost-effective important supplies and power storage enterprise on the planet.”

“It is a self-sustaining enterprise and can proceed to make this firm extra priceless over time. We have now the group and the expertise to do what no different firm can,” he wrote.

Staff who had been laid off had been informed by Redwood’s chief HR officer that the layoffs had been made “to sharpen our focus, our work and the dimensions of our groups to help the course Redwood goes sooner or later,” in line with a replica of her e-mail, which was considered by TechCrunch.

Workers who had been laid off are receiving severance and paid well being advantages, in line with Straubel’s e-mail, in addition to “profession transition help.”

“I’m grateful to the roughly 135 staff who we are saying goodbye to at this time — they’ve all contributed to constructing Redwood,” he wrote.