Energy Department Freezes Funding To Fisker Causing Layoffs And Work Stoppage

Fisker Automotive, an electric car maker that received a half-billion-dollar loan from the federal government, said Monday that it has laid off workers in Delaware and California.

The layoffs include 26 workers at a former General Motors plant in Wilmington that Fisker is retooling to manufacture its Nina plug-in hybrid sedan. Another 40 contractors and employees who were working in design and development of Fisker’s Karma luxury car in Anaheim, Calif., also have been cut.

jeffgall - 2/7/2012 8:47:09 AM

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Ironic that the current administration is at war with the 1%, however they approved a loan to subsidize a luxury car to $100k car for the same 1%.

vdiv - 2/7/2012 9:24:15 AM

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You may be missing the point. It is not easy to make a safe production car from scratch, not to mention one that uses new technologies. It costs a lot of money and it takes a long time. Does that make it not worth while in your view?

Look at the Tesla business model. After being heavily subsidized and making the limited low-volume high-price Roadster now they are about to release the mid-volume mid-priced Sedan.

jeffgall - 2/7/2012 12:05:55 PM

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I think you are missing the point. If a business cannot develop a product for people at the targeted price intended, they should not be in business. Why should I, the tax payer, fund the ability for someone else to drive an electric or alternative fuel car. If the market demands it, it will naturally happen in a free market.

MeanVulcan - 2/7/2012 12:50:37 PM

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so lets stop production of Corvettes and high end sports cars. Close the doors on Escalades and Vipers.

The ones to benefit are not the buyers but the workers that produce these cars. What a STUPID comment!

MeanVulcan - 2/7/2012 12:53:38 PM

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by your own admission, this is a LOAN, not a bailout, so your whining about "our" taxpayer money is unwarranted. The government gets their money back PLUS INTEREST when it LOANS money.

Making luxury products benefits everyone, workers at the supplier and OEM level, dealers, etc.

jeffgall - 2/7/2012 3:50:43 PM

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Last time I checked, banks usually access a business case before loaning out money to ensure it has the better chance of being paid back. You think this happened here?

If this company had such a profitable model, why didn't it seek private investment? Perhaps because no one would invest in such a risky business.

vdiv - 2/7/2012 9:29:49 AM

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Well, the taxpayers, or these days really the Chinese fork the bill for all kinds of other dubious in nature things. With banks being extremely risk-averse these days there really aren't many entities to fund R&D of new technology with long outlook.

I do think the gov't should consider investing more in new and existing infrastructure that is used by most of us rather than individual businesses.

MeanVulcan - 2/7/2012 12:54:55 PM

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Again, this is a LOAN, not a bailout. No loss of taxpayer money here.