Carbon Robotics, the Seattle company known for laser-powered weed control, has trimmed its workforce, citing “broader economic conditions” while refusing to specify how many positions vanished.
A former employee writing on Glassdoor on October 17 described a pattern of aggressive hiring followed by abrupt mass layoffs, with some workers dismissed only weeks after joining. The post credited the firm with giving staff “a high degree of autonomy and ownership” but faulted leadership for a lack of transparency, saying executives maintained an overly rosy outlook until the cuts landed. The writer added that the CEO’s final layoff notice “displayed no sincerity or respect.”
VP of marketing Brett Goodwin confirmed the layoffs in a statement to Geekwire and AgFunderNews but declined to answer follow-up questions about the scale or distribution of job losses. “We did have to realign costs due to broader economic conditions,” Goodwin said. “Employees impacted were distributed across the US and internationally and across a variety of positions.” He pegged Carbon Robotics’ current headcount at 275 worldwide.
That figure conflicts with a March Reddit recruiting post that described “a team of over 300 people.” Goodwin did not address the discrepancy.
The cuts arrive even as the company touts strong commercial momentum. Founder Paul Mikesell told AgFunderNews in August that Carbon Robotics had crossed $100 million in revenue for the year ending March 2026. He outlined plans to scale both the laser weeding business and a tractor autonomy venture, envisioning a market for thousands of laser weeders annually plus 30,000 to 40,000 autonomous tractors per year.
Mikesell said customers typically recover their investment within one to three years through lower labor costs, reduced chemical inputs, and yield gains. Banks, he added, have begun offering operating leases for the machines, easing the upfront capital burden for growers.
The company operates in roughly 20 countries, with the strongest traction in the United States, Western Europe, and Australia. Despite that footprint, the latest restructuring signals that even fast-growing ag tech players face pressure to right-size as economic headwinds persist.
