Impossible Foods Dismisses Some Employees in Reorganization

(Bloomberg) -- Impossible Foods Inc., the closely held maker of vegan burgers, has terminated a handful of employees as part of an internal reorganization.

“Earlier this month we made some organizational changes on several teams to ensure the functions supporting our business are best aligned with our strategy,” a company spokesperson told Bloomberg News via email. “This included downsizing some teams, and as a result a small number of employees were impacted.” Fewer than 15 of Impossible’s roughly 800 worldwide employees left, the spokesperson said. “We are continuing to actively hire, with plans to increase the size of our team throughout the year,” the spokesperson added.

Redwood City, California-based Impossible closed a $500 million fundraising round in November, which it said it would use toward growth in areas such as retail and international expansion. The round pegged Impossible at a $7 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported.

Since 2019, when Impossible received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell its products at retail, the alt-meat maker has been increasing its supermarket presence after spending its first several years focused on restaurant and foodservice sales. Since the onset of the pandemic, it has ramped up its grocery distribution significantly. Still, its products are at nearly twice as many restaurants as retailers, in 22,000 retail stores and nearly 40,000 restaurants, according to the November press release.

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