Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs
First Mode CEO Julian Soles speaks at the February opening of a Seattle factory. (First Mode Photo)
Seattle-based First Mode is reporting that 65 of its workers in Washington state are being laid off in a move that follows through on a previously announced plan to trim back operations at the clean-tech company.
The layoffs were cited in a notice filed today with the state’s Employment Security Department. The reported job reductions represent nearly 40% of First Mode’s Washington state workforce in Seattle and Centralia.
First Mode produces powertrain conversion kits that are designed to reduce carbon emissions for mining trucks and other heavyweight vehicles, potentially including railway locomotives.
Back in January, the company said that it would put less emphasis on hydrogen-battery powertrains and more emphasis on hybrid diesel-battery powertrains — and that it would have to reduce its workforce to adjust to changing market conditions.
About 20% of First Mode’s U.S.-based workforce was laid off in January. Last month, First Mode said it would have to make further cuts in preparation for seeking further investment.
“Despite efforts to revisit non-labor costs, significantly reducing recruitment, and terminating most contract labor to avoid headcount reductions, we still are not able to achieve the cost basis required and therefore must propose headcount reductions going forward,” First Mode CEO Julian Soles said in an email that was sent to employees in advance of today’s notice.
First Mode’s Washington state facilities include a 40,000-square-foot factory in Seattle’s SoDo district, other Seattle-area offices and labs, and a proving ground in Centralia. The company also has offices in Australia, Britain, Chile and South Africa. Soles’ email suggested that the wave of layoffs would affect all of those countries except Chile.
The company’s cutbacks reflect a realization that the transition to hydrogen power is likely to take longer than previously expected, at least for heavy industry — and that in the meantime, less expensive hybrid options would be needed to address the climate challenge.
There’s still hope for hydrogen: Two weeks ago, officials announced that a regional tech hub known as the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association is eligible for up to $27.5 million in federal funding. That money would support the first phase of a project aimed at establishing a hydrogen energy infrastructure in Washington, Oregon and Montana. The federal funds will be matched by up to $125 million from industry partners — including First Mode.
