We study the electronic structure of the skutterudite Ce 3 Co 4 Sn 13 , which is known to exhibit a charge density wave (CDW) transition, at temperature T CDW ∼ 160 K, coupled to a metal-to-metal transition. We use temperature dependent hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HAXPES) and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to investigate the occupied and unoccupied electronic states of Ce 3 Co 4 Sn 13 . The Co 2p and Sn 3p core level spectra show small but finite shifts in binding energy positions across T CDW while Ce 3d core level spectra do not show any change across the transition. The Ce M 4,5 -edge XAS spectrum compared with calculations indicate a typical trivalent ionic Ce 3+ spectral shape, ruling out Kondo screening in Ce 3 Co 4 Sn 13 . In contrast, the Co L 2,3 -edge XAS spectrum compared with a calculated spectrum shows evidence for hybridization with neighboring Sn atoms in a trigonal prismatic co-ordination. Temperature dependent XAS across the Co L 2,3 -edge shows a small shift across T CDW , consistent with HAXPES results. Detailed XAS measurements as a function of temperature show that the spectral shifts occur with a hysteresis across T CDW , indicative of a first-order transition. Valence band spectra show a normal Fermi edge above and below T CDW . The Co 3d states are observed at a binding energy of ∼2 eV while the Ce 4f states occur as a weak feature within 0.5 eV of the Fermi level. The results suggest an unusual CDW transition coupled to a metal-to-metal transition in Ce 3 Co 4 Sn 13 .