Seattle’s Carbon Robotics cuts jobs across departments, citing economic conditions
Oct 21, 2026, 6:46 AM | Updated: 6:47 am
A farmer uses a tractor to harvest a soybean crop in his field. (Photo: Buddhika Weerasinghe, Getty Images)
(Photo: Buddhika Weerasinghe, Getty Images)
One of Seattle’s most buzzworthy tech startups is now the latest to shrink its workforce. Carbon Robotics confirmed to GeekWire it was cutting jobs across multiple departments.
Carbon Robotics currently employs 275 people around the world. The company did not share exactly how many employees will be affected by layoffs.
Brett Goodwin, vice president of marketing, told GeekWire the company needed to “realign costs due to broader economic conditions.”
The agriculture tech firm is best known for the “LaserWeeder.” The machine is pulled behind a tractor, uses AI to detect and map crops, and then uses lasers to eliminate weeds. It has been touted as a way for farmers to cut down on pesticide use.
In 2025, Carbon Robotics revealed an autonomous tractor. The fleet is supervised by a Remote Operations Control Center in Richland. These developments helped the company land a top-ten spot on GeekWire’s top Pacific Northwest startups.
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Tech companies shrinking
Carbon Robotics is the latest of many Seattle-area tech companies to reduce their workforce. Last month, Microsoft revealed about 300 Washington employees were being laid off as part of continued changes with the XBOX team. According to GeekWire, Microsoft did not directly blame the changes on artificial intelligence, but acknowledged “AI is changing how work gets done.”
Last week, software company Qualtrics separated from 117 employees, completing a round of layoffs announced in September. The company blamed the cuts on restructuring following the acquisition of Press Ganey Forsta.
Software company Oracle plans to cut 359 employees in November across various departments.
This month, Amazon cut hundreds of employees from its retail division according to Business Insider. An Amazon spokesperson responded to The Seattle Times with a written statement.
“We’ve adjusted parts of our Stores business because we believe this structure will better enable us to deliver on our priorities.”
In total, The Seattle Times estimated Seattle-area tech companies have laid off a combined 10,000 employees since last year.
Contributing: Julia Dallas, My Northwest
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