The Pebble Labs facility at Entrada Park in Los Alamos. Courtesy photo

BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com

A Pebble Labs spokesperson confirmed Wednesday afternoon that 13 employees have been laid off by the company.

“Unfortunately, today we informed the team that 13 positions were eliminated as part of an overall cost reduction effort. We are saddened to have to take this step,” she said.

The spokesperson said recently the general environment for investment has softened and has become acute in the last week.

“It is a challenge to ask people to invest in startups like ours, so we’ve had to recognize these difficulties and make this decision in order to keep ourselves financially stable going forward,” she said. “That said we are convinced our situation will improve this year. But today has been a difficult day for us.”

Pebble Labs, a biotechnology company, is developing solutions to safely and sustainably increase natural crop yield and food security. In September 2019, the company finalized the purchase of the New Mexico Consortium Biological Laboratory (Biolab) at Entrada Business Park in Los Alamos for $11.5 million.