Redwood Materials Cuts 135 Jobs and Loses COO as Battery Recycler Shifts to Energy Storage

Redwood Materials, the battery recycling and materials company founded by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, has laid off roughly 135 workers — about 10% of its workforce — and lost its chief operating officer as part of a sweeping restructuring. The move, first reported by TechCrunch, marks one of the highest-profile workforce reductions in the U.S. clean energy sector this year and signals a strategic pivot away from aggressive expansion toward a tighter focus on grid-scale energy storage. For workers across climate tech, EV supply chains, and the broader green economy, the shakeup at one of the best-funded startups in the space raises urgent questions about hiring stability in a sector that was supposed to be the next great job-creation engine. Metaintro breaks down what happened and what it means for your career.

What Exactly Is Happening at Redwood Materials?

Redwood Materials confirmed that about 10% of its staff — roughly 135 people — are leaving the company as part of a restructuring Straubel described to employees as a necessary correction after years of fast growth. "We can deliver on our critical projects with a smaller team that is more focused," Straubel wrote in a note to staff, adding that the company had "expanded faster than needed" and needed to "reduce layers of management."

The layoffs come on top of a cluster of senior exits. Chief Operating Officer Chris Lister, who joined Redwood in late 2023 as chief supply chain officer before being promoted to COO in 2024, is retiring. Lister previously ran operations at Tesla's Nevada Gigafactory — the same facility where Straubel cut his teeth before founding Redwood. His departure is the most senior in a string of recent exits, including Bradley Mayhew, VP of integrated supply chain (April 2026); Guillermo Urquiza, VP of mechanical engineering (March 2026); and Carlos Lozano, VP of manufacturing, who left earlier in the year for Panasonic.

Why Is a Clean Energy Darling Cutting Jobs?

Redwood was one of the most celebrated climate-tech startups of the last five years. Founded in 2017 by Straubel, who helped architect Tesla's battery strategy, the company raised more than $2 billion to recycle lithium-ion batteries, produce cathode and anode materials, and essentially create a closed-loop domestic battery supply chain. It built facilities in Nevada and South Carolina and hired aggressively, projecting the kind of growth curve that powered other clean-tech unicorns.

But the story that was meant to be a clean-energy success now reads like a cautionary tale about how quickly demand signals in emerging sectors can shift. EV sales growth has slowed from breakneck pace to something more measured, federal incentive regimes have been rewritten, and capital has become more cautious across the climate sector. Straubel's framing — that the company "expanded faster than needed" — echoes similar explanations from CEOs across tech and clean energy who are pulling back after over-hiring during the zero-interest-rate era.

The company's pivot toward refurbished batteries for grid storage, anchored by new deals with Rivian and Crusoe Energy, suggests management sees more durable revenue in stationary storage than in chasing ever-expanding EV production forecasts. That is a meaningful strategic bet — and one that changes what kinds of jobs the company needs going forward.

What Roles Are Most Affected by the Restructuring?

While Redwood has not released a department-by-department breakdown, the pattern of senior exits is telling. The leaders who have left recently ran supply chain, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing — the core functions of a high-throughput recycling operation. Straubel's stated goal of "reducing layers of management" suggests mid- and upper-middle management roles in operations are likely most exposed, along with support functions that were built for a faster growth trajectory than the company is now pursuing.

For individual contributors in engineering, process chemistry, battery science, and skilled trades, the picture is more nuanced. Redwood still has roughly 1,200 employees, active manufacturing commitments, and large customer contracts. The company will continue to need battery engineers, process operators, technicians, and materials scientists to execute its energy-storage pivot. The risk is concentrated more on the "scale-up muscle" — people hired to build out new lines, new facilities, and new headcount — than on the "run-rate muscle" that keeps existing operations going.

What Does This Mean for the Clean Energy and EV Battery Job Market?

Redwood's restructuring lands in a clean-energy labor market that was supposed to be one of the safest bets of the decade. Domestic battery manufacturing, EV supply chains, and recycling were forecast to add hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs through 2030 under a mix of industrial policy incentives and private investment. The sector is still growing in absolute terms, but the Redwood news is one more data point that growth is uneven and that even well-capitalized leaders can pull back hard.

For job seekers, a few themes matter. First, leader-level operations talent is circulating. When a VP of manufacturing moves from Redwood to Panasonic, or when a Nevada Gigafactory veteran retires, it creates both churn and opportunity at the senior ranks. Second, companies with existing cash-flow operations — established battery makers, grid-scale storage integrators, utility-side energy storage developers — are likely to absorb some of this talent. Third, workers should pay close attention to which sub-sectors inside climate tech are being funded for revenue versus being funded for promise. Grid storage, EV charging, and industrial decarbonization with near-term revenue streams are more resilient than pure R&D-heavy plays.

How Can Climate Tech Workers Protect Their Careers Right Now?

The Redwood situation is a reminder that "mission-driven" companies are not immune to labor-market physics. If you are currently working in EV batteries, recycling, or broader climate tech, there are a few practical moves worth considering. Build relationships outside your current employer — the fastest way to land after a surprise reduction is an active network, not an active application. Document your wins in measurable terms: throughput improvements, yield gains, cost reductions, safety metrics. These translate across clean-energy sub-sectors more easily than project-specific narratives.

If you are on the job market, consider broadening your target list. Utility-scale storage developers, grid operators, large industrial manufacturers electrifying their operations, and the energy divisions of major automakers are all hiring battery and manufacturing talent. The transferable skill stack — battery chemistry, process engineering, high-volume manufacturing, supply chain — is increasingly valued outside of pure-play battery startups. Metaintro CEO Lacey Kaelani has argued that workers should think of themselves as portfolios of skills rather than employees of a single company, especially in sectors where strategic pivots can reshape headcount overnight. That mindset shift is especially relevant in climate tech right now.

Is the Clean Energy Hiring Boom Over?

Not quite — but it is evolving. The headline-making "hire at any cost" phase of 2021–2023 is done. What replaces it is a more disciplined hiring environment where companies match headcount to contracted revenue, not to forecasts or vibes. For workers, that means longer interview cycles, more emphasis on proven operational impact, and fewer speculative roles. It also means a premium on candidates who understand both the technology and the unit economics of a clean-energy business.

It is worth remembering that even inside Redwood, most jobs are not going away. A 10% reduction, while painful for those affected, still leaves a company with roughly 1,200 employees and live contracts with some of the most important customers in EVs and grid storage. The bigger signal is directional: the clean-energy labor market is moving from "growth at all costs" to "growth with discipline," and workers who can demonstrate impact in that second mode will continue to find strong opportunities.

People Also Asked

Q: How many people did Redwood Materials lay off in 2026?

A: Redwood Materials laid off approximately 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring announced in April 2026 alongside the retirement of COO Chris Lister and several other senior operations and supply chain leaders.

Q: Why is Redwood Materials restructuring under JB Straubel?

A: CEO JB Straubel told employees the company had "expanded faster than needed" and said the restructuring is meant to reduce management layers and refocus the business on energy storage, including new deals to supply refurbished batteries to Rivian and Crusoe Energy for grid applications.

Q: What does the Redwood Materials restructuring mean for clean energy jobs?

A: It signals that even well-funded climate-tech leaders are tightening headcount as EV growth moderates and capital becomes more selective. Core technical roles in batteries, manufacturing, and grid storage remain in demand, but speculative scale-up roles are more exposed than they were during the 2021–2023 hiring boom.

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