Sustainability Layoffs: Who Is Cutting Green IT and Climate Technology Jobs?

What's the state of employment for climate tech and sustainability professionals? The short answer is unclear, particularly in the United States -- where President Donald Trump has eliminated various energy transition programs.

Without federal dollars or regulatory incentives, some businesses are rethinking their commitment to sustainability-focused employees.

Amid that backdrop, here's a look at sustainability-oriented companies and green energy business units that announced staff cuts in 2025, 2024 and 2023...

February 2026 Layoffs

• Lucid Motors layoffs will impact 12% of its workforce in a bid to “improve operational effectiveness and optimize our resources as we continue on our path toward profitability,” TechCrunch reported.
• Scope3 has cut engineering and sales staff just five months after implementing commercial team reductions in August 2025, PPC Land reported. The sustainability-focused adtech company declined to specify how many employees lost positions in the February 2026 layoffs.
• Change by Degrees, an engagement platform that aligns employees with sustainability targets, has ceased operations because "policy changes at European level and political headwinds internationally have pushed sustainability down the agenda," the company said on its website. Co-founder Tara Shine shared lessons learned in a column.

January 2026 Layoffs and Furloughs

• City of New Orleans layoffs impacted several members of the Office of Resilience and Sustainability, Axios reported. An executive order said the initiatives will be spread across all city departments. However, a Change.org petition calling for New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno to save the office, the report noted.

December 2025 Layoffs and Furloughs

• CSO Transition and Layoffs: John Swire & Sons Head of Sustainability Mark Harper has exited the business and is seeking a new CSO-type position. Meanwhile, John Swire & Sons cut around 10% of staff at its Hong Kong head office in late 2025 amid weaker corporate earnings. The cuts involved finance, risk management and sustainability, Eco Business reported.
• Aviation Layoffs: Twelve, a sustainable aviation startup, had two rounds of layoffs in 2025, Politico reported. Related: List of all sustainability industry layoffs.
• Ford's EV Pivot and Layoffs: Ford Motor will scrap various EV manufacturing plans and take $19.5 billion in charges in order to stem longer-term EV financial losses, Bloomberg reported. To boost revenue, Ford will turn its Kentucky EV-battery factory into a battery-storage business for customers such as utilities, wind- and solar-power developers, and massive data centers that train AI, The Wall Street Journal reported. Amid the pivot, Ford layoffs will impact all 1,600 employees at the Kentucky EV plant, WDRB reported.
• Sublime Cement, a sustainable materials startup backed by Microsoft, has suffered 10% staff layoffs and paused 1development of its planned demonstration project in Holyoke, Massachusetts, according to Data Center Dynamics.
• Carbon Capture Technology Job Cuts: Carbon8 Systems, a University of Greenwich spin-out, has laid off its staff and is seeking a buyer for its intellectual property, according to to Consulting UK.

November 2025 Layoffs and Furloughs

• Swire Group layoffs impacted 10% of employees at its Hong Kong head office, Bloomberg reported. The cuts, made in November 2025, affected some 40 people in divisions including sustainable development, finance and risk management. Some department leaders were laid off, including group head of sustainability Mark Harper, the report said.
• Redwood Materials layoffs involved dozens of job cuts -- or 5% to 6% of staff. The startup, led by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, is scaling back some of its ambitious projects to refocus on tapping into demand for grid-scale batteries, Bloomberg reported.
• HP layoffs will impact roughly 6,000 jobs by 2028, the PC and printer maker said. The company laid off an additional 1,000 to 2,000 employees in February 2025, as part of a previously announced restructuring plan, CNN Business noted. HP is struggling to navigate rising memory chip prices, triggered by AI data center buildouts. Related: HP sustainability strategy and channel partner implications
• ABN AMRO cut 67 jobs in its sustainability team of 400 experts, NL Times reported. The cuts affect 58 permanent staff and nine temporary workers, the report said.
• Synopsys layoffs will impact 10% of employees or roughly 2,000 staff members. The staff cuts come roughly two years after Synopsys acquired Ansys for $35 billion in January 2024. Ansys develops simulation software that assists customers in such areas as sustainable transportation, advanced semiconductors, satellite systems, medical device development, and energy supply chains. (Source: Economic Times, Telecom Edition)
• Qcells, the U.S. solar manufacturing arm of Korea's Hanwha, said it would furlough 1,000 workers at its Georgia factories because shipments of components it needs from overseas are being routinely stalled by U.S. customs officials. (Source: Reuters)

October 2025 Layoffs

• AGL, a major energy company in Australia, plans 300 layoffs amid the company's shift to cleaner energy production, Reuters reported.
• General Motors layoffs involved roughly 1,200 employees at Detroit’s electric vehicle plant and 550 cuts at Ohio’s Ultium Cells battery cell plant, in addition to 850 temporary layoffs at that site in Ohio, CNBC reported. GM also said it would temporarily lay off 700 at Ultium Cells’ Tennessee plant, the report said.
• Rivian layoffs will impact about 600 employees or 4% of its workforce, The Wall Street Journal reported. In September 2025 or so, Rivian did a smaller round of layoffs, affecting 1.5% of its workforce, the Journal noted. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)
• German wind turbine manufacturer Eno Energy has filed for insolvency, which could cost a regional government millions and leave 280 people unemployed, Recharge News reported.
• Denmark's Orsted will cut 2,000 jobs by the end of 2027, a quarter of its workforce, Reuters reported. The cuts come amid President Trump's aggressive pushback against offshore wind technology. Orsted's U.S.-based projects have therefore faced numerous headwinds.

September 2025 Layoffs

• University of Louisiana at Lafayette eliminated six positions and closed its sustainability office, according to The Current. Interim President Jamie Hebert is striving to overcome a $25 million deficit, local media reported.
• Blue Ridge Power, a solar energy engineering and construction company, plans to lay off more than 500 employees, according to Business North Carolina.
• Rivian layoffs will impact roughly 1.5% of employees. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)
• Land O’Lakes layoffs will impact 30 Truterra employees. Truterra specializes in carbon credits and sustainable farming practices. Land O'Lakes will fold the business unit into three other units. (Source: Minnesota Star Tribune).

August 2025 Layoffs

• PosiGren Solar Company layoffs impacted nearly all of their employees in Connecticut due to significant financial difficulties, NBC Connecticut reported.
• Clean energy project specialist LevelTen Energy is laying off 60 workers, effective August 15, a filing indicated.
• Citi layoffs will include several executives from the company's Sustainable DCM Team, including Philip Brown, according to SSB Crack News.

June 2025 Layoffs

• Statkraft, an international renewable energy company based Norway, plans to cut costs by $292 million. The cuts may involve layoffs, multiple reports suggested.

Continue to the next page for additional sustainability & climate tech layoffs.