Proterra

How it happened

Proterra was a maker of electric transit buses and EV battery systems, valued at ~$4B when it went public via SPAC in 2021. Manufacturing difficulties and cash constraints undermined its bus business, and it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2023; its battery unit was subsequently acquired by Volvo, with the stock down roughly 95% from peak. Glassdoor reviews located the trouble on the factory floor: employees described chronic parts shortages throttling production and a transit-bus line that never turned a profit. After the IPO they recounted waves of layoffs — including deep engineering cuts — worthless stock options, and leadership that changed direction several times a year.

Employee accounts paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗. See our methodology.