Layoff and restructuring wave
What happened
- Multiple companies announced workforce cuts or WARN notices amid strategy shifts and cost programs. - Examples include Redwood Materials cutting about 10%, PNC eliminating 777 jobs, and Bristol Myers Squibb filing a 206-job WARN notice. - Observers note AI investment is rising even as firms reorganise headcount, with surveys citing tens of thousands of recent tech job losses ( ).
Why it matters
Layoffs are spreading across industries in April, with battery recycling, banking and drugmaking all cutting jobs as companies rewrite their plans. (techcrunch.com; thestreet.com; roi-nj.com) Redwood Materials laid off about 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, on April 21 as it reorganized around a faster-growing energy storage business. Chief executive JB Straubel told remaining staff the cuts came after “parts of the company have expanded faster than needed,” according to TechCrunch. (techcrunch.com) The Nevada company had already cut 5% of staff five months earlier, even after closing a $425 million funding round three months ago that valued it at more than $6 billion. Redwood said its materials business is moving toward profitability and pointed to recent battery supply deals with Crusoe AI and Rivian. (techcrunch.com) PNC Bank filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice for about 777 layoffs at the West Colfax Building in Lakewood, Colorado, with separations set to begin June 30, 2026. The cuts follow PNC’s January 5 closing of its FirstBank acquisition, a deal TheStreet reported at more than $4.1 billion. (thestreet.com) PNC said the layoffs are permanent and tied to combining overlapping operations after the merger, not to closing the building. Other employees will continue working at the site, and the affected workers are not represented by a union, according to the filing described by TheStreet. (thestreet.com) Bristol Myers Squibb filed a New Jersey WARN notice this week covering 206 jobs, with layoffs scheduled between July and December 2026. ROI-NJ reported the filing on April 22, adding to a broader run of workforce reductions in the state’s pharmaceutical sector. (roi-nj.com) The pattern is not confined to one weak corner of the economy. Redwood is chasing energy storage, PNC is digesting an acquisition, and Bristol Myers Squibb is trimming headcount while large employers across tech and finance keep reshaping payrolls around cost targets and new priorities. (techcrunch.com; thestreet.com; roi-nj.com) Artificial intelligence money is rising at the same time. Success reported on April 22 that AI companies drew $297 billion in first-quarter funding while between 78,000 and 90,000 tech workers were laid off globally in the same 90-day stretch, with the 2026 total already above 95,000. (success.com) Some companies are saying that part out loud. Forbes reported that Snap cut 1,000 jobs on April 15, Atlassian cut about 1,600 on March 11 to fund more AI investment, and Block eliminated more than 4,000 positions in February as it pushed smaller teams using AI tools. (forbes.com) Not every layoff is an AI layoff, and several executives have framed the 2026 cuts as merger cleanup, restructuring or a shift to faster-growing lines of business. But by late April, the same labor market is absorbing battery cuts in Nevada, bank cuts in Colorado and pharma cuts in New Jersey while investment keeps flowing into the next buildout. (techcrunch.com; thestreet.com; roi-nj.com; success.com)
Key numbers
- Examples include Redwood Materials cutting about 10%, PNC eliminating 777 jobs, and Bristol Myers Squibb filing a 206-job WARN notice.
- (techcrunch.com; thestreet.com; roi-nj.com) Redwood Materials laid off about 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, on April 21 as it reorganized around a faster-growing energy storage business.
- (techcrunch.com) The Nevada company had already cut 5% of staff five months earlier, even after closing a $425 million funding round three months ago that valued it at more than $6 billion.
- (techcrunch.com) PNC Bank filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice for about 777 layoffs at the West Colfax Building in Lakewood, Colorado, with separations set to begin June 30, 2026.
What happens next
- Layoffs are spreading across industries in April, with battery recycling, banking and drugmaking all cutting jobs as companies rewrite their plans.
- (techcrunch.com) PNC Bank filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice for about 777 layoffs at the West Colfax Building in Lakewood, Colorado, with separations set to begin June 30, 2026.
- Other employees will continue working at the site, and the affected workers are not represented by a union, according to the filing described by TheStreet.
Quick answers
What happened in Layoff and restructuring wave?
Multiple companies announced workforce cuts or WARN notices amid strategy shifts and cost programs. Examples include Redwood Materials cutting about 10%, PNC eliminating 777 jobs, and Bristol Myers Squibb filing a 206-job WARN notice. Observers note AI investment is rising even as firms reorganise headcount, with surveys citing tens of thousands of recent tech job losses ( ).
Why does Layoff and restructuring wave matter?
Layoffs are spreading across industries in April, with battery recycling, banking and drugmaking all cutting jobs as companies rewrite their plans. (techcrunch.com; thestreet.com; roi-nj.com) Redwood Materials laid off about 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, on April 21 as it reorganized around a faster-growing energy storage business. Chief executive JB Straubel told remaining staff the cuts came after “parts of the company have expanded faster than needed,” according to TechCrunch. (techcrunch.com) The Nevada company had already cut 5% of staff five months earlier, even after closing a $425 million funding round three months ago that valued it at more than $6 billion. Redwood said its materials business is moving toward profitability and pointed to recent battery supply deals with Crusoe AI and Rivian. (techcrunch.com) PNC Bank filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice for about 777 layoffs at the West Colfax Building in Lakewood, Colorado, with separations set to begin June 30, 2026. The cuts follow PNC’s January 5 closing of its FirstBank acquisition, a deal TheStreet reported at more than $4.1 billion. (thestreet.com) PNC said the layoffs are permanent and tied to combining overlapping operations after the merger, not to closing the building. Other employees will continue working at the site, and the affected workers are not represented by a union, according to the filing described by TheStreet. (thestreet.com) Bristol Myers Squibb filed a New Jersey WARN notice this week covering 206 jobs, with layoffs scheduled between July and December 2026. ROI-NJ reported the filing on April 22, adding to a broader run of workforce reductions in the state’s pharmaceutical sector. (roi-nj.com) The pattern is not confined to one weak corner of the economy. Redwood is chasing energy storage, PNC is digesting an acquisition, and Bristol Myers Squibb is trimming headcount while large employers across tech and finance keep reshaping payrolls around cost targets and new priorities. (techcrunch.com; thestreet.com; roi-nj.com) Artificial intelligence money is rising at the same time. Success reported on April 22 that AI companies drew $297 billion in first-quarter funding while between 78,000 and 90,000 tech workers were laid off globally in the same 90-day stretch, with the 2026 total already above 95,000. (success.com) Some companies are saying that part out loud. Forbes reported that Snap cut 1,000 jobs on April 15, Atlassian cut about 1,600 on March 11 to fund more AI investment, and Block eliminated more than 4,000 positions in February as it pushed smaller teams using AI tools. (forbes.com) Not every layoff is an AI layoff, and several executives have framed the 2026 cuts as merger cleanup, restructuring or a shift to faster-growing lines of business. But by late April, the same labor market is absorbing battery cuts in Nevada, bank cuts in Colorado and pharma cuts in New Jersey while investment keeps flowing into the next buildout. (techcrunch.com; thestreet.com; roi-nj.com; success.com)
