Katerra

Katerra, a SoftBank-backed construction startup once valued at $4 billion, is shutting down and laying off thousands of employees. The company, which had around 2,434 employees according to its LinkedIn page, struggled with project delays, cost overruns, and financial difficulties exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and rising labor costs. Despite previous layoffs and a $200 million bailout from SoftBank last year, Katerra failed to stabilize, leading to its closure in June 2021. The company, which aimed to revolutionize the global construction industry, also faced an SEC investigation into its accounting practices before its collapse.

Katerra laid off 400 employees representing approximately 7% of its workforce on 2020-06-29.

In April 2020, offsite construction technology company Katerra laid off approximately 240 employees, representing 3% of its then 8,000-strong global workforce, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced shutdowns across its operations. The Menlo Park-based firm also implemented salary cuts for higher-paid staff, with then-CEO Michael Marks reducing his own salary to zero. By July 2020, under new CEO Paal Kibsgaard, Katerra announced another round of layoffs, cutting over 400 employees or 7% of its workforce across functions like HR and engineering, as part of efforts to streamline cash flow and accelerate its path to profitability.