Katerra to Shut Down All Operations and Walk Away from Dozens of Construction Projects

According to people familiar with the matter, Katerra, the six-year-old startup construction company, told its employees in a video call on Tuesday (6-1-21) that it plans to shut down. The executive on the video said the effects of COVID-19, as well as rising costs of labor and construction materials contributed to the company’s latest cash crunch. The closure will mark the collapse of the Softbank-backed company that had raised more than $2 billion to slash the cost of building apartments. Katerra is expected to let thousands of employees go and is likely to be walking away from dozens of construction projects it has agreed to build, according to one of the sources. According to LinkedIn, Katerra has more than 2,400 employees. It previously had as many as 8,500 before several rounds of layoffs. A Softbank spokesperson has declined comment and a spokesperson for Katerra has not responded to requests from news services for comment.