See BCDC Prepared to Approve Portside Commerce Center (Moxion) in Richmond Without a Public Hearing , July 22, 2024. At least, the building is configured so that it could house a port-related business at some point.

Bay Area battery maker that had raised $110M suddenly furloughs staff, says shutdown is likely

Moxion Power, a battery manufacturer based in Richmond, suddenly furloughed almost its entire staff on Friday and warned workers that it will likely shut down.

A worker stands in from of one of Moxion Power’s MP-75 generators. The company bills its battery-powered tech as clean, quiet and dependable, but Moxion has reportedly failed to find new financial backers.
Courtesy of Moxion Power

In an internal Zoom call and a WARN notice to staff, the 4-year-old startup revealed that it’s reaching the end of its runway. Moxion had raised at least $110 million in funding and, in January, announced plans for a massive office expansion next to its current headquarters. But the battery company laid off  101 workers in June, and told employees in the Friday notice that it will likely have to shut down the rest of its operations.

The notice said Moxion has been trying since the start of the year to get a new infusion  of cash, but that talks fell through in the past week, leaving it with an “unexpected and last-minute” shortfall. That leaves the company in a dire position.
“While we are actively looking at various financing sources, and other corporate options, and are doing our best to pursue these alternatives, in the event that we are not successful, we have no option left but to begin the process of shutting down operations and closing facilities,” the notice said. “At this time, we do not believe that our efforts will be successful.”

Friday’s mass furlough took staff by surprise, according to three workers who spoke with SFGATE on Monday and were granted anonymity in accordance with Hearst’s ethics policy  due to their confidentiality agreements. They said they were told not to work in-person on Friday, and instead to join a Zoom call with CEO Paul Huelskamp. 

According to the workers, the meeting lasted just five minutes, with the executive telling staff that most of them would be furloughed and that they’d get an update in early August. Workers, with the exception of a “skeleton crew,” are now locked out of their work systems and are not receiving pay, two of the employees told SFGATE. 

Some also received the WARN message, which SFGATE reviewed. California’s Employment Development Department had not received the notice as of Monday afternoon.

“If the shutdown and closure cannot be avoided, your expected termination date will be August 5, 2024,” the notice said. Employees at the company’s headquarters in Richmond and sites in Sun Valley and Vernon would all be laid off in the event of a shutdown.

For now, the furlough means manufacturing, repairing and engineering work is stalled and many staffers are already on the hunt for new jobs. Moxion workers poured onto LinkedIn over the weekend, publicly referencing a “company-wide furlough” and saying that they’re open to new jobs. LinkedIn lists the company’s head count as 287 workers, but doesn’t yet appear to have taken June’s 101-employee layoff into account. 
Neither Huelskamp nor Moxion’s press representatives responded to SFGATE’s questions or requests for comment.

Over the past four years, the company built up a list of prominent backers and promised to bring a “gigafactory ” to Richmond. Huelskamp and co-founder Alex Meek formed the company with the help of San Francisco startup incubator Y Combinator, as part of its winter 2021 class . Amazon and Microsoft have each invested in Moxion, and Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared  at a plant launch ceremony in May 2023. 

But the hype doesn’t seem to have boosted Moxion’s battery business enough to avoid these huge cost cuts and find a path to profitability. Though investment and interest in sustainable electricity products have risen, Moxion is up against a cheap, well-known and widely available competitor — the diesel generator.

A truck with Moxion Power’s logo, towing one of its portable batteries, sits near the company’s Richmond, Calif., headquarters.
Courtesy of Moxion Power

Hear of anything happening at Moxion Power or another Bay Area tech company? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at stephen.council@sfgate.com or on Signal at 628-204-5452.