Plug Power has laid off 74 workers at its Houston manufacturing plant as part of a cost-cutting effort. The company aims to manage its finances and avoid a reverse stock split.
The layoffs affect production staff and are linked to broader governance and capital strategies. The move is intended to preserve liquidity ahead of an important shareholder vote, according to Houston Business Journal.
Why the Shareholder Vote Matters
In materials sent to investors, Plug Power has warned that it is running out of runway on its existing share authorization. The company told stockholders it has less than 0.4% of its authorized shares remaining and is asking them to double the cap on common stock from 1.5 billion to 3.0 billion shares, according to its SEC proxy filing.
That same filing makes the stakes clear: if investors do not approve the increase, the board plans to move ahead with a reverse stock split that has already been authorized. In other words, the charter vote decides whether Plug Power gets more headroom to issue stock, or instead shrinks its share count to try to stabilize the price.
Meeting Adjourned While Votes Are Solicited
Plug Power opened its special shareholder meeting on Thursday, then quickly hit pause. The gathering was adjourned until Feb. 5 so the company could keep hunting for more votes, according to a news release posted to GlobeNewswire.
The release states that the proposals on the table had strong backing among the votes that were actually cast, but not enough of Plug Power's total outstanding shares were represented to seal the deal. The company again signaled that a reverse split remains the backup plan if the share-authorization measure comes up short. "We will continue our campaign to solicit votes for Proposals 1 and 2," CEO Andy Marsh said in the statement.
Restructuring History and Local Impact
The cuts in Houston are the latest chapter in a restructuring drive that has been underway for more than a year. Plug Power has been trimming expenses since 2024 and in March 2025 rolled out a formal restructuring program that included workforce reductions and manufacturing realignment, the company notes in its SEC filings.
Those filings show Plug Power has already booked millions of dollars in restructuring charges and warned that its plan could ultimately shrink the workforce by more than 500 full-time employees as it works to shore up liquidity.
For workers inside the Houston plant and the local suppliers who serve it, Thursday's move is an immediate hit. For investors watching from the sidelines, the next key data point will be the outcome of the rescheduled shareholder meeting, which will decide whether Plug Power leans on a reverse split or wins fresh room to issue stock. That decision will heavily influence how aggressively the company can raise capital, and how many people are still clocking in at the Houston facility in the months ahead.
