Climeworks Layoffs
Industry Energy · Location Zurich · Switzerland · Subscribe (RSS)
Climeworks has 1 publicly reported layoff round on record (most recent May 21, 2025). A total of about 106 employees were affected across these rounds.
Layoff history
Swiss direct-air-capture startup Climeworks laid off 106 people in May 2025, reducing its headcount by 22% from 483 to 377. The cuts came as the Trump administration pulled back federal support for carbon removal projects, putting the future of Climeworks' Louisiana plant in doubt. That project had been awarded a $50 million US government grant with up to $500 million more available during construction. Co-founder and co-CEO Jan Wurzbacher said the company needed to "consolidate a little bit" after "a phase of extreme growth" and to get onto a path toward profitability. The broader industry was hurting too: venture investment in direct-air-capture startups fell 46% year over year in Q1 2025 to $110 million. No severance details were disclosed publicly.
Reason: US climate policy rollback and cost-cutting for profitability
Source: bloomberg.com
Data for Climeworks is compiled from public WARN Act filings and reporting linked above. See our methodology.