View cuts 23% of staff, seeks funds to survive 2023

The views within a smart glass startup are beginning to shatter.

View Inc. laid off close to 170 employees, or approximately 23 percent of its workforce, according to an annual report by the SoftBank-backed firm reported by Bisnow. 

The layoffs were one part of a plan to cut costs at the Silicon Valley-based manufacturer, which is running out of financial runway. In its SEC report, View revealed it lacked the financial resources needed to meet obligations and operating costs for the next 12 months.

In addition to the layoffs, View issued convertible notes during the fourth quarter, helping it to raise $206 million in the fourth quarter. But the company is still bleeding cash, losing $337 million last year after losing $343 million in 2021. 

One of the most prominent problems View has faced was potential delisting from the Nasdaq exchange, which came into focus at the end of 2021 after the company to file quarterly 10-Q financial forms for consecutive quarters.

At the time, Nasdaq threatened to enforce delisting the company if they didn’t resolve the issues and submit revised reports by mid-August. 

View is considering a reverse stock split to try and stave off delisting. A February notice warned the company is at risk of delisting if its stock fails to trade above $1 for 10 consecutive days by Aug. 14; the share price has yet to rise above that mark all year.

It’s been a stunning fall for View, which announced a deal to go public via a SPAC sponsored by Cantor Fitzgerald in December 2020. The move valued the startup at $1.6 billion and helped it reel in $800 million.

The maker of “dynamic” glass was founded in 2007, geared towards creating windows that could reduce heat and glare and adjust in response to light. In November 2018, SoftBank invested $1.1 billion in the company.

— Holden Walter-Warner