Meati Trims Off Another 10% of Workforce

Fresh on the heels of adding $50 million to its coffers, mycelium-based meat company Meati has cut another 10% of its workforce and intends to close its Boulder, Colorado pilot plant as it seeks to prioritize profitability.

Meati president and COO Scott Tassani said that the company is eliminating 60 roles (roughly 20% of its 300 person workforce). About 30 employees have been offered other positions within the company and the other half have been  laid off, according to reporting from the Denver Post.

The news comes just over three months after the company cut back its workforce 5% – affecting about 17 employees – as it tried to drive profitability. In January, Meati unveiled its “Mega Ranch” facility in Thornton, Colorado that is expected to boost production to get the brand to over “$1 billion in run-rate sales by 2025.”

Those who were not offered other positions will be provided with severance packages that include covering the cost of health insurance.

“These job cuts, while incredibly difficult, are a necessary part of ensuring we achieve a sustainable business model,” a Meati representative told NOSH on Wednesday. “We must be nimble and focus on near-term profitability.”

The company said that the cuts will “impact nearly every part of the organization.” One division that appears to be affected was Meati’s marketing wing with at least two former marketing employees announcing their dismissal on LinkedIn.

Despite the retraction of positions at the company, Meati is expecting to grow its team with nearly 100 additional roles opening up in the near-term to expand production, the company representative noted. According to job listings on Meati’s website, the company has nine open positions, all of which are operations and engineering roles.

Along with the staffing reorganization, the company has paused operations at its 25,000 sq. ft. Boulder pilot facility until further notice as it reportedly prioritizes its production in the 100,000 sq. ft. production plant that opened in January.

Meati has taken an omnichannel approach to distribution, selling its 4-SKU line of plant-based meat products in Sprouts, Midwestern grocery chain Meijer, Fresh Thyme; on the menus of fast-casual vegetarian chain PLT Burger locations; and DTC through its website.

Meati is not the only plant-based protein maker trimming the fat. Impossible Foods slimmed its staff by 6% – or about 48 employees – in October. Whereas one month prior, Beyond Meat made two rounds of layoffs as it tried to stem the bleeding from operational costs that had begun to weigh down the company.