03-05-2024, 01:42 AM
Battery startup Our Next Energy lays off another 3 dozen employees
<p><a href="https://www.autonews.com/topic/battery" target="_blank">Battery</a> startup <a href="https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/our-next-energy-raises-another-300-million" target="_blank">Our Next Energy</a> Inc. is again trimming headcount following months of struggles.</p>
<p><em>Crain’s Detroit Business</em> has learned that the Southeast Michigan-based company has cut another 37 jobs — 24 of which were located in Michigan — with the majority of the layoffs being administrative roles, according to a <a href="https://www.autonews.com/suppliers" target="_blank">company</a> statement to <em>Crain's</em>. </p><p>ONE's current focus is around developing products “that will double the range for <a href="https://www.autonews.com/topic/electric-vehicles" target="_blank">electric vehicles</a> and double the energy capacity of conventional utility scale energy storage systems,” the company said in the statement.</p>
<p>“In support of this mission, ONE is reinforcing its commitment to its research & development, engineering, supply chain and manufacturing functions,” the statement continues. “To accomplish this, the company is re-aligning resources and reducing overall operating expenses in its non-product related functions. This decision will enable ONE to operate in a more financially efficient manner and support the company’s ongoing efforts to attract additional strategic and financial investors.”</p>
<p>Our Next Energy has approximately 240 employees in Michigan following Monday's cuts.</p>
<p>The additional cuts at the once-high-flying unicorn startup — ONE raised $300 million in early 2023 at a valuation of $1.2 billion — come after the company laid off around one-quarter of its employees in November as part of a "focus on core priorities." </p>
<p>Just weeks later, ONE undertook a leadership shakeup, installing board member Paul Humphries — who has a background managing high-growth companies and financial turnarounds — as its new CEO, replacing founder Mujeeb Ijaz, who remained at the company as chief technology officer overseeing product development.</p>
<p>In late January, ONE executives told <em>Crain's</em> that they had secured enough funding through various investors to have a financial runway through the end of 2024.</p>
<p>“We were clearly strapped for cash,” Humphries told <em>Crain's</em> at the time. “That’s why we went out and revised the business plan and made it sufficiently attractive for the existing investors to come in and give us a bridge round that gets us ideally to the end of this year, potentially beyond that.”</p>
https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/o...-employees
<p><a href="https://www.autonews.com/topic/battery" target="_blank">Battery</a> startup <a href="https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/our-next-energy-raises-another-300-million" target="_blank">Our Next Energy</a> Inc. is again trimming headcount following months of struggles.</p>
<p><em>Crain’s Detroit Business</em> has learned that the Southeast Michigan-based company has cut another 37 jobs — 24 of which were located in Michigan — with the majority of the layoffs being administrative roles, according to a <a href="https://www.autonews.com/suppliers" target="_blank">company</a> statement to <em>Crain's</em>. </p><p>ONE's current focus is around developing products “that will double the range for <a href="https://www.autonews.com/topic/electric-vehicles" target="_blank">electric vehicles</a> and double the energy capacity of conventional utility scale energy storage systems,” the company said in the statement.</p>
<p>“In support of this mission, ONE is reinforcing its commitment to its research & development, engineering, supply chain and manufacturing functions,” the statement continues. “To accomplish this, the company is re-aligning resources and reducing overall operating expenses in its non-product related functions. This decision will enable ONE to operate in a more financially efficient manner and support the company’s ongoing efforts to attract additional strategic and financial investors.”</p>
<p>Our Next Energy has approximately 240 employees in Michigan following Monday's cuts.</p>
<p>The additional cuts at the once-high-flying unicorn startup — ONE raised $300 million in early 2023 at a valuation of $1.2 billion — come after the company laid off around one-quarter of its employees in November as part of a "focus on core priorities." </p>
<p>Just weeks later, ONE undertook a leadership shakeup, installing board member Paul Humphries — who has a background managing high-growth companies and financial turnarounds — as its new CEO, replacing founder Mujeeb Ijaz, who remained at the company as chief technology officer overseeing product development.</p>
<p>In late January, ONE executives told <em>Crain's</em> that they had secured enough funding through various investors to have a financial runway through the end of 2024.</p>
<p>“We were clearly strapped for cash,” Humphries told <em>Crain's</em> at the time. “That’s why we went out and revised the business plan and made it sufficiently attractive for the existing investors to come in and give us a bridge round that gets us ideally to the end of this year, potentially beyond that.”</p>
https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/o...-employees