Fisker bankruptcy likely, says once-positive Delaware Governor

Delaware Governor Jack Markell gave business leaders a decidedly negative take on two possible futures for Fisker Automotive: bankruptcy or a negotiated settlement to pay off the $170 million it owes in federal loans at a reduced rate. Neither sounds very good for the governor of the state that brought Fisker into the former General Motors assembly plant in Wilmington in 2009. Markell gave the luxury extended range EV automaker a package of $21.5 million in state grants and loans to set up shop there. The state has continued to pay for utility bills at the plant, as well. Fisker was going to build its Atlantic plug-in hybrid there, but that never happened and the plant has remained shuttered since GM left.

It’s not clear if a bankruptcy or negotiated payoff of the federal loan would include the Delaware plant, or if it’s been essentially written off the books. The US Department of Energy wouldn’t comment on whether Delaware is being included in the federal loan negotiations. A spokesperson for the governor said Markell was merely citing press reports when he laid out the two options for Fisker’s future.

Markell had been counting on the Fisker deal to boost his political future, according to The News Journal. The Fisker plant was supposed to bring jobs back to the state after GM and Chrysler both closed plants and laid off workers during the recession. Fisker never made a in the First State and laid off the last of its Delaware employees in the spring of 2012.