Upheaval was announced at Northvolt, the Swedish battery maker, as it said it would close down its Cuberg subsidiary and transfer lithium-metal battery technology from California to Northvolt Labs in Sweden.
It said the transfer is a strategic move to consolidate R&D and industrialisation in one location for its lithium-ion, sodium-ion and lithium-metal products. The company said the move “maximises opportunities for success, whilst also enabling the most cost-efficient pathway for industrialisation of lithium-metal technology.”
Northvolt said it is also part of a strategic review of its expansion plans in light of delivery delays and loss of a €2 billion ($2.2 billion) order for EV battery cells from BMW. Plans for a CAM factory have also been dropped, as we reported in June.
Northvolt has been developing lithium-metal battery technology through Cuberg. This is a company in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, acquired in 2021.
All but two of the 192 employees will lose their jobs, but have been encouraged to apply for open positions in Northvolt. That includes Northvolt Labs and the Northvolt Ett manufacturing plant in northern Sweden, and Northvolt North America, in Montreal, Canada.
Shauna McIntyre, CEO of Cuberg, will remain in a leadership role within Northvolt North America.
Matti Kataja, Northvolt’s director of communications, told BEST: “The integration of Cuberg involves a workforce adjustment affecting a total of 192 Cuberg employees. The provisions of the Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notification (WARN) Act will apply to employees who will not be transferred.”
The US Department of Labor says the law helps ensure advance notice in cases of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs.
