California-headquartered Apeel will let go about 105 employees in North America, Europe, and South America. It is part of a plan that was announced in November of last year. The company's total workforce is estimated at 450.
James Rogers founded the company in 2012, focusing extending shelf-life and reducing food waste. He and the team developed coatings that are being applied to produce to stop water loss and oxidation, the main causes of fruit rotting.
The company expanded from its first headquarters in Milpas to a 105,000 square-foot building in Goleta and significantly grew its workforce. In 2017, the company released a natural and edible coating that could achieve an organic label.
In recent years, things didn’t go as well as hoped. In July 2022, the company laid of employees and this past November, it was announced another 105 employees would be laid off in January, March and June of 2023. The layoffs impact about 55 people of the Goleta, California headquarters. The company has a second headquarters in the Netherlands and lists employees in eight other countries and US states.
Source: Santa Barbara Independent