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Print Edition StoriesFriday, November 14, 2008
Mascoma lays off 10 percent of workers and execs
By Mass High Tech Staff
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Less than six weeks after announcing it had raised $49 million in government funding to build an ethanol production plant in Michigan, Cambridge-based Mascoma Corp. has laid off a handful of executives, including president Colin South.
According to representatives of the company, the layoffs cover between 5 and 10 people, including executives, or about 10 percent of the company’s 120 people. The cuts were made across all the companies facilities.
Mascoma CEO Bruce Jamerson said the move was a reaction to the current economic climate, rather than an specific downturn in the company’s business and that Mascoma's current projects will continue to move forward. In addition to the layoffs, he said, the company has also reviewed its supply chain and other cost centers, and made changes to achieve better economic efficiencies.
“This is just prudent business practice when you see economic turmoil,” he said. “This does not reflect our growth nor effect our projects (in New York and Michigan). If, anything, our business is doing the best it has done since I’ve been here.”
Mascoma was founded in 2005 by Dartmouth professors Lee Lynd and Charles Wyman with a mission of developing enzymes for the conversion of organic material to biofuels, such as ethanol. The company has landed two high-profile projects - the proposed ethanol plant in Michigan, as well as a similar demonstration plant in New York. The company pulled in more than $65 million in state and federal funding for the projects, as well as raised more than $60 million in private funding from investors such as Marathon Oil Corp., Cambridge’s General Catalyst Partners and Flagship Ventures, Waltham-based Atlas Venture and California-based Khosla Ventures.
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