First Mode, a Seattle-based company that’s concentrating on reducing carbon emissions in mining and other heavy industries, has alerted its employees to a significant round of layoffs that’s expected to unfold in early August.
A memo sent out today to U.S. employees doesn’t specify how many will be laid off — and emphasized that “individual determinations are still in process.” But First Mode told GeekWire in a follow-up email that the layoffs could amount to as much as 50% of the company’s global workforce.
In the memo to employees, chief people officer Mornie Robertson said the total number of impacted workers in the U.S. “will be large enough” to obligate First Mode to provide all U.S. employees with notification under the terms of the WARN Act. That blanket 60-day advance notification accompanied today’s memo.
“Impacted employees will be notified the week of August 5,” Robertson wrote.
Robertson referred to an all-hands meeting that took place last week and focused on the business outlook for First Mode.
“As we enter the second half of the year, First Mode needs to further adjust to ensure we are aligned to the market and our business opportunities, whilst making First Mode as attractive as possible to the broadest set of investors,” she said. “As stated last week, this means we must continue with ongoing business optimisations, including the global workforce right sizing that began in January 2024.”
For the past few years, First Mode has been developing powertrain conversion kits to switch heavy mining trucks from diesel power to zero-emission hydrogen-battery power. In January, the company announced a strategic pivot that put less emphasis on hydrogen and more emphasis on hybrid diesel-battery powertrains. At the time, First Mode CEO Julian Soles said the change in strategy provided a lower-cost, step-by-step path to reducing carbon emissions.
In connection with January’s pivot, First Mode laid off about 20% of its U.S.-based workforce. It currently has a global workforce of 258 employees, including 166 employees in Washington state.
Despite the layoffs, First Mode has been moving ahead with its business initiatives. In February, it opened a 40,000-square-foot factory in Seattle’s SoDo district to manufacture conversion kits for heavy mining trucks. The company, which is majority-owned by the Anglo American mining conglomerate, also has other facilities in Seattle and a proving ground in Centralia, Wash., plus offices in Australia, Britain, Chile and South Africa.
In April, First Mode announced a strategic alliance with Mitsui & Co., a global investment group with extensive interests in the mining industry, to accelerate the adoption of cleaner energy solutions for heavy industry.
The shifts in First Mode’s “Path to Zero” business strategy reflect a realization that it will take longer than previously thought for hydrogen-based energy solutions to take hold. In an FAQ guide for employees, First Mode said that January’s workforce reductions were made “in response to the global clean hydrogen economy not yet being where our customers needed it to be for us to justify our spend and scope on hydrogen fuel cell-related innovations.”
Such reassessments have had an impact on other companies aiming to capitalize on hydrogen power. Last month, California-based Universal Hydrogen said it was shutting down after failing to attract further financial backing for its hydrogen fuel-cell airplane conversion system.
Last week, Australia-based Fortescue said it would cut 700 jobs, or 4.5% of its global workforce, as part of a restructuring plan that reflects a less bullish outlook for low-cost “green” hydrogen. For what it’s worth, Fortescue is one of the partners in a plan to create a clean-hydrogen hub in the Pacific Northwest and has been working on the development of a hydrogen production facility in Centralia.
Correction for 8:55 p.m. PT July 22: The original version of this report said Everett, Wash.-based magniX, which is a subsidiary of the Clermont Group and builds electric propulsion systems for aircraft, shelved its plans to produce hydrogen fuel cells. But Michael Kearns, director of communications for the Clermont Group, said that’s not correct. “While we are focusing on our newly announced Samson battery line, and our ability to offer a fully electric powertrain, we also see hydrogen solutions as a complement to our battery electric and hybrid electric capabilities to fully meet the needs of our customers,” Kearns said in an email.