Carbon Revolution cuts staff at its Deakin University base

A US-listed manufacturer based in Geelong has made major cuts to its production staff amid a plunging share price.

Then treasurer Josh Frydenberg visits Carbon Revolution factory in 2021. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

A Geelong manufacturing company is cutting staff amid a plunging share price and concerns from a major American financial corporation.

Carbon Revolution has made up to 60 employees – approximately one-tenth of its workforce – redundant this week, less than a fortnight after the company was issued with a non-compliance letter from the US-based Nasdaq stock exchange.

One employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said management informed affected staff on Tuesday after flagging the redundancies around the same time it received the letter.

“They supposedly ranked everyone based on performance and attendance and a couple of other things,” the employee said.

“Then from that, they picked 60 and said ‘goodbye’”.

Most of the employees let go worked on the production line, the employee said.

The company, which did not respond to questions, has been a high-profile player within the local advanced manufacturing sector and a darling of politicians from all persuasions.

It has grown from a small start-up focused on research and development to a tier one supplier of lightweight carbon fibre wheels to international automotive companies.

Along the way it has received significant government funding, including a $12m federal grant in 2022 for its “Mega-Line” project that would see production ramped up from 75,000 wheels a year to 155,000 at its purpose built 10,000 sqm Waurn Ponds facility.

Despite an 87 per cent increase in revenue last financial year to $71.5m, the company posted a $221m loss.

Carbon Revolution founders Brett Glass, Ashley Denmead and Jake Dingle in 2019. Picture: David Geraghty.

An initial focus on high-performance vehicles evolved into relationships with original equipment manufacturers around the world.

Spun out of Deakin and originally listed on the ASX in 2019, co-founder Jake Dingle oversaw the growth as long-term chief executive.

But in March, Mr Dingle was replaced by industry veteran Donnie Hampton Jnr.

“Thanks to the incredibly hard work that Jake Dingle and the entire team have put in over many years to bring our product to market, grow our customer base, and industrialise our operations, our acceleration is just beginning,” board member Chris Leary said at the time.

The company’s move to the Nasdaq in 2023 was supposed to facilitate greater investment, but its share price has fallen 66 per cent in the past year to $US2.71, representing a market cap of $US5.1m.

On June 3, Carbon announced the listing qualifications department of the Nasdaq had informed it that it was not compliant with the $US10m minimum stockholders’ equity requirement for continued listing.

Carbon now has 45 days to submit a plan to regain compliance.

Carbon is a member of Geelong’s Advanced Fibre Cluster and while not wanting to comment specifically, its chief executive David Buchanan said industry participants faced multiple issues.

“The convergence of a slowing global economy, persistently high energy costs, and ongoing fragility in global supply chains has created a challenging environment,” he said.

“This has been further compounded by the reintroduction of US tariffs under the Trump administration, which is contributing to a broader trend of trade fragmentation and protectionism that is reshaping global markets in unprecedented ways.”

Originally published as Carbon Revolution cuts staff at its Deakin University base