Posts Tagged ‘fisker news’
Maker, Obama Admin hit hard during House hearing.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.25, 2013
Shown here with the $103,000 Karma, former Fisker Automotive Chairman Henrik Fisker was grilled on Capitol Hill.
Fisker Automotive may be running out of options other than bankruptcy, the floundering battery-carmaker’s chief operating officer conceded during an often contentious hearing on Capitol Hill.
The maker — which recently laid off 75% of its U.S. staff and this week saw the U.S. Energy Department seize the company’s emergency reserve funds – has been at the heart of a partisan battle over a program created by the Obama Administration to support clean car technologies. The GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee ordered three current and former Fisker executives, as well as the head of the Energy Dept. loan program to testify about the likely collapse of the automaker.
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“I do not know exactly what the future holds for Fisker Automotive, including whether the company will be able to find new investors,” said COO and co-founder Bernhard Koehler, “or whether the company may be obliged to seek bankruptcy protection to facilitate its continued efforts to preserve value for all stakeholders.”
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Tags: Bernhard Koehler, auto news, car news, fisker DoE, fisker automotive, fisker bankruptcy, fisker capitol hill, fisker hearing, fisker house oversight committee, fisker karma, fisker loans, fisker news, henrik fisker, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
Battery-carmaker facing Chapter 11, founder set to testify before House.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.23, 2013
Henrik Fisker is one of several current and former Fisker Automotive execs called to testify before Congress.
Even as the company’s founder is set to testify before a House hearing, the U.S. Department of Energy has seized $21 million from Fisker Automotive to apply towards repayment of a federal loan the floundering battery-car manufacturer received.
The move appears to have emptied what was left of Fisker’s fast-dwindling cash assets, a further nudge towards bankruptcy, according to industry observers. The maker has been expected to file ever since laying off 75% of its 160-member staff earlier this month.
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The collapse of Fisker is raising questions not only about a DoE loan program designed to help fund the development of advanced, high-mileage vehicles but what happened with the money Fisker tapped from its loan – as well as an estimated $1.2 billion it received from private investors.
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Tags: Bernhard Koehler, auto news, car news, fisker DoE, fisker automotive, fisker bankruptcy, fisker chapter 11, fisker energy dept, fisker karma, fisker loan, fisker news, henrik fisker, house oversight committee, house oversight fisker, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, tony posawatz
Posted in Automobiles | 2 Comments »
Fisker wins money it may never collect, Tesla slammed for wrongful termination.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.18, 2013
Former Tesla flak David Vespremi inside his new Epic Torq roadster. Photo Courtesy: InsideEVs.com
It hasn’t been a good week in court for either Fisker Automotive or Tesla Motors, both companies handed unexpected legal setbacks.
For Fisker, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled the maker will get only a fraction it had hoped for from its battery supplier, the former A123 Systems. That could make it all the more difficult for the plug-in hybrid maker to forestall its own plunge into Chapter 11, something now widely expected.
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As for Tesla, its former communications chief has finally prevailed in a lawsuit alleging he was wrongly dismissed from the company in what has been described as a “Stealth Bloodbath,” and stands to be awarded more than $200,000. But the case could set a precedent for 99 other workers who’ve filed identical claims against the electric vehicle manufacturer.
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Tags: auto news, car news, david vespremi, fisker a123, fisker automotive, fisker b456, fisker batteries, fisker news, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, tesla motors, tesla news, tesla wrongful discharge, thedetroitbureau, warn act
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
GOP preparing House hearings on collapse.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.10, 2013
Henrik Fisker is one of several current and former Fisker Automotive executives who will be asked to testify before the House Oversight Committee.
Lawyers for Fisker Automotive are putting the final touches on paperwork that could put the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection within a matter of days, according to numerous sources in and outside the fast-fading battery-carmaker.
The move appears to be coming under pressure from the Department of Energy which is hoping to recoup more than $200 million in government-backed loans it initially provided to help spur the development of Fisker’s plug-in hybrid technology. The automaker has faced increasing turmoil in recent months and last week terminated three-quarters of its 160-member staff.
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The news is causing turmoil in Washington, where the DoE automotive loan program has long been criticized by Republicans. House GOP members are planning to press into Fisker’s problems with hearings by a key oversight committee later this month, with Fisker founder Henrik Fisker and current CEO Tony Posawatz reportedly among those being called to testify.
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Tags: auto news, car news, fisker DoE, fisker atlantic, fisker automotive fisker fires, fisker bankruptcy, fisker chapter 11, fisker hearing, fisker karma, fisker loan, fisker news, fisker oversight committee, gop fisker, henrik fisker, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, tony posawatz
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Bankruptcy the likely option, say sources.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.08, 2013
Barring some last-minute rescue, don't expect to ever see the Fisker Atlantic make production.
If it were possible for things to get worse, well, it just might for fast-failing Fisker Automotive which, just last Friday, laid off three quarters of its employees, including its marketing, engineering and communications teams.
That move has triggered a federal lawsuit alleging the company failed to provide the required advance notice before releasing 160 of its 210 employees – who were also advised they would receive no severance pay.
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Meanwhile, several highly placed sources echoed their concerns that a bankruptcy filing is extremely “likely,” one executive who has had close scrutiny of Fisker’s books telling TheDetroitBureau.com, “I don’t see how they can avoid it.”
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Tags: auto news, car news, fisker atlantic, fisker automotive, fisker bankruptcy, fisker cuts, fisker fires, fisker karma, fisker news, henrik fisker, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, plug-in hybrids, thedetroitbureau, tom lasorda, tony posawatz
Posted in Automobiles | 2 Comments »
Maker looking for cash, partner or buyer.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.05, 2013
Henrik Fisker with one of the first Karma plug-in hybrids during its initial media drive.
This is a complete update of TheDetroitBureau.com’s earlier report.
About 75% of the workforce at troubled battery-car start-up Fisker Automotive has been laid off, including its entire communications staff and much of its marketing and engineering operations, a move forced by the firm’s increasing weak financial situation and the mounting fears that without new investors or partners Fisker could be forced into bankruptcy, numerous sources have confirmed.
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The move comes only days after U.S. employees reported back after a week-long, unpaid furlough, and less than a month after founder and former Chairman Henrik Fisker resigned over “several major disagreements” with members of the small carmaker’s senior management team over its ongoing business strategy.
“Unfortunately we have reached a point where a significant reduction in our workforce has become necessary,” the company said, adding that it was still searching for a strategic partner.
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Tags: Fisker layoffs, auto news, car news, fisker atlantic, fisker automotive, fisker bankruptcy, fisker firings, fisker job cuts, fisker karma, fisker news, henrik fisker, kleiner perkins fisker, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, tony posawatz
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
Sources point to key investors for shake-up.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.05, 2013
Don't expect to see the Fisker Atlantic get into production unless a White Knight emerges for the troubled battery-car maker.
Barely a week after U.S. employees were put on a 5-day unpaid furlough, troubled Fisker Automotive has apparently given termination notices to as much as half or more of its staff – including its entire communications department, several well-placed sources have told TheDetroitBureau.com.
While the latest move appears to be part of a desperate move to conserve dwindling cash resources while searching for new investors or a complete outside acquisition, the situation could be even more dire.
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“I would not be surprised to see this leading up to the possibility of a bankruptcy filing,” cautioned an extremely well-connected source with long connections to the battery-car maker. Other Fisker sources said such a move would come as no surprise to them, either.
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Geely, Dongfeng might rethink plans for plug-in maker.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Mar.18, 2013
The big challenge will be coming up with the cash to bring the Fisker Atlantic to market.
Now that the company’s eponymous founder has tendered his resignation, have several possible Chinese partners also decided to take a pass on Fisker Automotive? That appears to be a strong possibility according to published reports and several sources TheDetroitBureau.com has spoken to.
The question then is whether the struggling battery-car maker will have the resources to continue on its own considering its financial problems and the repeated delays in launching the company’s critical second product, the Fisker Atlantic.
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Founder and non-executive Chairman Henrik Fisker tendered his resignation last Wednesday, citing “several major disagreements” with senior management. While Fisker has declined to be interviewed about the source of that trouble, company sources tell TheDetroitBureau.com the issues appear to have largely centered around a disagreement with CEO Tony Posawatz over how much money was needed to move the company forward and where it would come from.
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Tags: auto news, car news, fisker DoE, fisker atlantic, fisker automotive, fisker china, fisker chinese, fisker dongfeng, fisker geely, fisker karma, fisker loans, fisker news, henrik fisker, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, tony posawatz
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Cites “major disagreements” with new management team.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Mar.13, 2013
The Fisker Karma with company founder Henrik Fisker.
With his eponymous battery-car company facing increasing turmoil as it struggles to survive a trouble launch and increasing financial problems, Henrik Fisker has resigned as executive chairman of California-based Fisker Automotive.
In a terse statement, the executive cited “several major disagreements” with members of the small carmaker’s senior management team over its ongoing business strategy. It is unclear if that references reported plans to find a partner and possibly sell a controlling stake in the firm to one of several Chinese automakers linking to the Fisker company.
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After tendering his resignation, Fisker sent out a note to a small group of media, including TheDetroitBureau.com, in which he stated that effective immediately he “has resigned from Fisker Automotive as Executive Chairman, and has left the company. The main reasons for (my) resignation are several major disagreements…with the Fisker Automotive executive management on the business strategy.”
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Tags: auto news, car news, fisker atlantic, fisker automotive, fisker china, fisker geely, fisker karma, fisker news, fisker resigns, fisker sale, henrik fisker, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, tony posawatz
Posted in Automobiles | 2 Comments »
China's Dongfeng reportedly seeking controlling stake.
by Joseph Szczesny on Feb.18, 2013
Fisker Automotive founder Henrik Fisker with his plug-in hybrid, the $103,000 Karma.
Fisker Automotive Inc. has confirmed it is considering a variety of options that reportedly could include the sale of a controlling stake to one of China’s largest domestic automakers.
But while the start-up plug-in hybrid maker has confirmed it is discussing options with potential partners from at least “three continents,” Fisker insiders caution that some recent, published reports may be wildly off the mark in terms of the bids it is considering.
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“With regards to a sale, given the confidential nature of this matter, at this point in our process we can only confirm that the company has received detailed proposals from multiple parties in different continents which are now being evaluated by the company and its advisors,” echoed Fisker spokesman Russell Datz in an e-mail response to questions from TheDetroitBureau.com.
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