Nevada-based battery recycler Redwood Materials is laying off staff. The company is cutting approximately 5% of its workforce. This news comes just weeks after it secured a massive $350 million funding injection.
The layoffs were first reported by Bloomberg News. Redwood Materials employs about 1,200 people. The cuts will affect several dozen employees across the company.
The workforce reduction follows a significant financial milestone. In October, Redwood Materials closed a $350 million Series E funding round. This round valued the company at nearly $6 billion, according to TechCrunch.
A company spokesperson declined to comment on the reported layoffs. The move suggests a strategic realignment of resources. This is common for startups even after successful capital raises.
Founded by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, Redwood began by recycling battery production scrap. It also processes consumer electronics and used electric vehicle batteries. The company extracts valuable materials like cobalt, nickel, and lithium for reuse.
Redwood has since expanded into manufacturing cathode materials. More recently, it launched an energy storage division. This new business uses old EV batteries to create large-scale power storage systems.
This sector is experiencing rapid growth. The demand is driven largely by power-hungry AI data centers. The company had stockpiled over 1 gigawatt-hour of batteries for this purpose as of June.