An Announcement from Rewiring America CEO

Team -

This is a letter I wish I did not have to write. Today, we are being forced to say goodbye to many talented and revered colleagues, reducing our team by 28 percent. You will receive an email within the next few minutes informing you of whether your role has been impacted.

Losing trusted and respected teammates is sad for all of us. But it is especially difficult for those who have to leave Rewiring America today. 

To the 36 of you who are impacted, this is not on you. You have done exceptional work that has advanced our mission. The volatility we face is not something we created: it is being directed at us. Nevertheless, I take full responsibility for the decisions we have to make now. While it is imperative that we chart a path through it and take decisive steps to ensure our long-term strength, it has consequences I wish were not the result. 

More than 82,000 people applied for 140 positions here since our beginning five years ago. All of you are among the most gifted and inspired anywhere. Anyone would be very lucky to have those of you leaving today on their teams. We will support you in finding your next opportunity. I am personally committed to that.  

I will share more details on the way forward for departing employees and for the organization, but I first want to provide some context on how we got here.

The world we are trying to create. 

You all joined Rewiring America to pursue our North Star: making electrification affordable and convenient for American families. Our work is centered on kitchen table decisions American households make about the cars they drive, how they heat their air and water, cook their food, dry their clothes and power those machines. 

We care about these decisions because going electric can reduce household energy costs by an average of $3,000 and put $300 million back into the average-sized American community per year. We care about these decisions because they represent 42 percent of our energy-related emissions. Because climate change is both very real and entirely solvable.  

In a time of rising costs where everyday Americans struggle to just get by, we are building a future that is unapologetic about making life better for all of us. 

The way forward.

We have to do three things now to create the stability necessary to advance our work.

First, we will tighten our strategic focus. We will continue to work across states to lower the cost of electricity and will make our powerful data tools available to partners across the country to accelerate that outcome. We will build a digital, community marketplace that gives households access to low cost and high quality electric upgrades. We will use that marketplace to attract investment from third parties like hyperscalers, utilities and manufacturers, further lowering costs for families.

Second, we will continue defending our rights in court and fight optimistically to victory. But, unfortunately, we are now forced to act financially as though the GGRF award does not exist. Because we are not able to access our funds, we will adjust expenses accordingly in order to become more resilient, not more vulnerable, with each passing month. 

Third, we will restructure the organization, getting into a tighter formation to deliver results against our strategy regardless of the GGRF resources and preserving our collective impact now and for the future.

How we approached our reduction in force.

Our guiding principle in making these decisions was to align team structure and strategy within budget parameters that do not include reliable GGRF funding. We rebuilt the organizational approach team by team, mapping to the roles most needed to deliver on the work. 

In reshaping our team structure, we made difficult decisions to eliminate certain roles across the organization. We reshaped other roles in support of the strategy. In the coming months, we will also add select positions and adjust others in priority areas. Throughout, we have moved as quickly as possible while ensuring we were methodical and equitable.

Support for our departing team members.

Invariably, this means saying goodbye to talented and cherished teammates. We considered carefully the times we are in and the need to do right by those who are leaving us. To that end, we are providing the following for departing employees:

Financial Support: All departing employees will receive 8 weeks of base pay, with one additional week of pay for each of the first two years of tenure at Rewiring America, and then an additional week for every six months of tenure thereafter. 

Health and well-being: Given the broader economic uncertainty, it is very important to us to minimize the impact of healthcare costs for departing team members. Accordingly, we will cover health insurance through COBRA through the end of year. 

Opportunities beyond Rewiring America: We are committed to helping our team members find their next opportunity. To support them, we are doing the following: 

• Alumni Network: We will launch our Alumni Network including an opt-in directory specifically to help those departing stay connected and find new jobs. 

• Alumni Placement Program: For the rest of the year, our Talent team will dedicate a percentage of their time to focus exclusively on helping departing team members in their job search, including coaching, providing resume feedback and networking tips. The leadership is committed to leveraging their networks to make introductions and to be an ongoing resource. That starts with me. Our go-forward team will be encouraged to do the same.

• LinkedIn Premium membership: We will provide the cash equivalent of an annual LinkedIn Premium membership to support job searches. 

• Laptops: In order to ease the transition, those departing will keep their laptops.

What happens now.

Within the next few minutes, everyone at Rewiring America will receive an email informing them whether or not they are impacted by today’s actions. Leaders will set up individual meetings along with a People and Culture representative throughout today with each departing team member to walk them through severance details and to answer any questions they may have. 

Departing team members will have their system access shut off over the course of the day, and will be invited to share their personal contact information so colleagues may say goodbye and stay connected. We also encourage our go-forward team to join the Rewiring America Alumni Network, and actively support our teammates in their job searches and transitions.

For team members not impacted by today’s decision, you will receive an invite to attend a team meeting with your function leaders later today. Aside from that meeting, we encourage you to take off the balance of today and Friday to reflect, to reach out to departing and go forward colleagues and to contemplate how we must stay in the fight for our climate, communities and future. 

On Monday, we will convene as an all hands and in departments, reviewing the go forward strategy and structure. Some team members will have roles that are shifting. Those new responsibilities and reporting lines will be discussed on Monday and throughout next week. We commit to addressing workload concerns and ensuring you have the clarity and support needed as we move forward.

Where we go from here. 

After today, there will be a period of grieving and then rebuilding. We will find our footing so that we can lean in together again. I believe that is the biggest honor we can give our departing colleagues — accelerating progress toward our North Star. The continued leadership and contributions of the go forward team give me confidence in the path ahead. The Board and our supporters are fully committed to and confident in the mission. Rewiring America is not going anywhere. And the difficult decisions we made will give us the stability to focus on the work and not the noise.

These last few months have been challenging for all of us. But the volatility has created clarity on where we have to go from here. It has also reaffirmed my conviction in the importance and promise of what we do. Not only for lowering energy costs for families and tackling climate change one kitchen table conversation at a time, but also for building shared purpose and enduring community for and beyond these times.   

I interviewed every person on this team. In those interviews, I shared two things. The first was to express my gratitude for your wanting to be part of building this movement. The second was to share an expectation that each of you act as fiduciaries of this organization and mission, shaping our impact and our future. 

You all came here to build something timely and important. To those of you leaving today, I am sorry that you will not be continuing with us. It is certainly not your fault. I am enormously grateful for your contributions. You have each been fiduciaries and made Rewiring America better than it was before. Thank you for everything. It is on the rest of us now to carry the work forward here. It remains on all of us to create a better world we can all share.