Novel EV fast charging solution FreeWire has announced plans to close its Newark corporate headquarters and lay off virtually all of its employees.
FreeWire is able to place DC fast charging solutions without the need for expensive utility buildouts by using batteries to store energy until it’s needed. The batteries can be effectively “trickle charged” with a standard 110 or 220 AC connection, then “dump” that charge quickly – enabling a 200 kW DCFC experience for EV drivers at a fraction of the cost of conventional DC infrastructure.
It’s a clever system, but despite high-profile mentions from the Biden-Harris Administration and freshly inked deals with national brands like Chevron and General Motors, reports indicate that FreeWire will shutter its primary business at 7200 Gateway Blvd. in Newark, California this June.
In a mass layoff notice, FreeWire said the site’s closing is expected to impact “all” of the company’s 113 on-site employees. That news was picked up by The Layoff Tracker, who posted it on Twitter X this past Friday (below).
🚨 LAYOFF ALERT – California 🇺🇸
FreeWire Technologies, Inc. will close permanently, affecting 113 employees at 7200 Gateway Blvd., Newark, CA 94560 on June 24, 2024, as indicated in a WARN notice. pic.twitter.com/jzeFV40Fbf
— The Layoff Tracker 🚨 (@WhatLayoff) May 2, 2024
FreeWire moved into the 66,000-square-foot facility back in 2022. A press release issued at the time labeled the site FreeWire’s “global headquarters and hub for R&D, testing, and manufacturing.”
A quick scan of the company’s website doesn’t shed any more light on the layoffs. Instead, a press release published May 2nd (the same day that news of layoffs broke) highlights the installation of a FreeWire charging station at a South Bay, California truck depot.
Electrek’s Take
FreeWire’s announcement comes just day’s after Elon Musk sacked the Tesla employees running the Supercharger network – news that upended the entire EV charging space and seemingly made Electrify America the most important player on the board. One can’t help but wonder whether or not FreeWire might be able to find a rescuer willing to take a flyer on it – but it’s just as likely that the added uncertainty in the EV charging business will make that rather unlikely.
That’s my (non) take, anyway. What’s yours? Scroll on down to the comments and let us know what you make of FreeWire’s apparent collapse, and what you think happens next.