SunPower, the Richmond-based solar pioneer now teetering toward bankruptcy, could slash up to 290 California jobs as early as mid-September.
The company filed a WARN notice on July 26, a legal requirement for mass layoffs, though executives still hope to avoid the worst-case scenario. No guarantees exist. The threatened positions stretch across eight cities, with the heaviest impact at SunPower’s Richmond headquarters, where 182 workers face uncertainty. Berkeley could lose 20 roles, North Hollywood 19, and Ontario 18, with smaller numbers in Elk Grove, Santee, San Jose, and Anaheim.
Financial troubles drove the decision, according to the filing, which offered no additional explanation. SunPower declined to comment.
The company’s fall marks a stunning reversal for a firm founded in 1985 by a Stanford professor. SunPower helped construct Solar Star, one of America’s largest solar plants near Rosamond, and equipped more than 100,000 homes with panels. Its stock soared during the late 2007 solar boom and again in January 2021, when a residential solar expansion briefly pushed the valuation to $9 billion.
That momentum evaporated quickly. Since December, SunPower hasn’t filed earnings reports. Its last filing admitted “substantial doubt” about the company’s survival amid mounting debt.
Meanwhile, April brought a separate announcement of 1,000 layoffs and the shutdown of SunPower’s direct sales and residential installation operations. By July, the company told dealers to stop shipments and installations entirely, driving the stock below $1 per share.
Guggenheim Securities analysts delivered a blunt assessment: SunPower’s equity holds no remaining value, and the company has effectively ceased operating as a viable business.
The Richmond headquarters, once home to battery startup Moxion Power before its July shutdown, now faces another potential void on the waterfront.
