Redwood Materials COO exits as company undergoes layoffs and restructuring

Redwood Materials chief operating officer Chris Lister is stepping away from the battery recycling company as he heads into retirement. He is not the only senior leader who has exited the company in recent weeks.

Lister, who previously served as a vice president overseeing operations at Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory, joined Redwood Materials in late 2023. He initially served as chief supply chain officer before being elevated to chief operating officer in 2024. That advancement positioned him closer within the leadership structure to Redwood’s founder and CEO, JB Straubel, who earlier held the role of chief technology officer at Tesla and remains a member of the automaker’s board.

Redwood Materials recently notified its workforce that Lister would be retiring, according to an employee who requested anonymity to discuss the internal communication. The company later confirmed his departure on Thursday, with a spokesperson stating via email, “We wish him the best in his retirement.”

Lister’s exit follows closely behind reports that Redwood Materials has reduced its workforce by approximately 10%, affecting around 135 employees.

These layoffs were part of a broader restructuring effort that Straubel outlined to staff in an internal email reviewed earlier in the week. He explained that the organisational changes are intended to strengthen the company’s expanding energy storage operations. Redwood has recently secured agreements with the automaker Rivian and the artificial intelligence firm Crusoe to supply refurbished batteries for grid-scale energy storage.

Several other executives have also departed Redwood Materials in recent months.

Bradley Mayhew, the company’s vice president of integrated supply chain and a former Tesla employee, exited earlier this month, according to LinkedIn. Guillermo Urquiza, vice president of mechanical engineering and another former Tesla employee, left in March. Additionally, Carlos Lozano, who served as vice president of manufacturing, moved on earlier this year to take a leadership role at Panasonic, according to LinkedIn.

Mayhew, Urquiza, and Lozano did not respond to requests for comment. Redwood Materials declined to address the individual departures directly. Still, they pointed to Straubel’s all-hands email, in which he indicated that efforts are underway to streamline management layers across the organisation.

In that same message, Straubel noted that “parts of the company have expanded faster than needed,” while also expressing optimism about Redwood’s direction as it works to establish what he described as the most integrated and cost-efficient critical materials and energy storage business globally.

“We are confident that we can deliver on our critical projects with a smaller team that is more focused,” he wrote. “We have successfully adapted to changes in the market that have bankrupted many of our competitors.”