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Fisker Lays Off Its Workforce for a Week
Struggling hybrid vehicle maker Fisker Automotive Inc. has put all 200-plus of its U.S. employees on unpaid leave for a week.
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Struggling hybrid vehicle maker Fisker Automotive Inc. has put all 200-plus of its U.S. employees on unpaid leave for a week. The California-based company says the move will help it manage costs based on "current activity levels."
Fisker reportedly hasn't made a car since it suspended contract assembly in Finland of its $107,900 Karma sport sedan last summer. Work on retooling a Delaware assembly plant and developing the $50,000 Atlantic hybrid sedan has been halted since February 2012.
The company has been trying since then to raise capital to restart operations. But last week Fisker's two leading suitors, China's Dongfeng Motor and Zhejiang Geely, abandoned their competing bids for a majority stake in Fisker.
Founder Henrik Fisker resigned as executive chairman and left the company earlier this month over what he described as "major disagreements" with Fisker's top executives about the company's business strategy.
The cash-strapped company needs to make an unspecified payment in April on its $192 million loan from the U.S. Dept. of Energy.
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