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Layoffs in 2012 result of rapidly changing clean-tech industry
BOULDER - Recent layoffs at Tendril Networks Inc. are the result of a yearlong strategic shift that has made Tendril modestly profitable and will result in the Boulderbased company finishing 2013 in the black, chief executive Adrian Tuck said in an interview.
Tendril develops energy-management software used by utilities to manage smart grids. It laid off 59 employees Dec. 31. It also had a round of layoffs earlier in the year.
The 2012 layoffs are a contrast to Tendril's rapid growth in 2011, when it was averaging 10 new hires a month. Tendril expected to add 100 jobs in 2012, and its staff peaked at about 200. Now it is fewer than 100.
In the interview, Tuck described the company's new direction, focus on a new type of customer, and some miscalculations Tendril, like other clean-tech companies, made in predicting the future of its rapidly changing industry.
Tuck said the staff cuts should not be viewed as a sign Tendril is struggling to survive. Tendril is "just profitable" on a day-to-day basis, has a "healthy cushion of growth capital" and has raised about $100 million from investors, including a recent $15 million investment, Tuck said.
Tendril also plans growth in overseas markets, is working on large projects with major utilities like Duke Energy and Reliant...