Redwood Materials Reduces Staff by 5% Despite $350M Funding Boost
Nevada-based battery recycler and cathode producer Redwood Materials has reportedly cut roughly 5% of its workforce, according to Bloomberg News, just months after securing a $350 million funding round.
With around 1,200 employees, the reduction affects a few dozen workers, marking a notable move for the company as it continues its expansion in the battery recycling and energy storage sectors.
From Battery Recycling to Cathode Production
Founded in 2017 by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, Redwood Materials initially specialized in recycling scrap from battery cell manufacturing, consumer electronics, and used electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The company recovers key materials, including cobalt, nickel, and lithium, and resells them to clients such as Panasonic. Over time, Redwood has also added cathode production to its operations, diversifying its offerings in the battery supply chain.
Expanding into Energy Storage
Recently, the company launched a new business unit focused on repurposing old EV batteries for energy storage solutions—a sector experiencing significant growth amid rising demand from AI data centers. As of June, Redwood Materials had accumulated over 1 gigawatt-hour of batteries for this purpose, reflecting the company’s push into scalable energy storage applications.
Funding and Valuation
The October announcement of a $350 million Series E round elevated Redwood Materials’ valuation to approximately $6 billion, as reported by TechCrunch. Despite the recent funding success, a spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the workforce reduction.
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