The luxury plug-in-hybrid car startup launched with a splash with the sexy Karma sedan just a few years ago, but since then it has struggled to collect government financing, it has been battered by natural disasters, supplier solvency issues and the recent departure of its namesake, designer and founder Henrik Fisker. The company has been in talks with possible investors, but thus far that has amounted to nothing, and officials are said to be in discussions with bankruptcy experts.
UPDATE: Calling it a “necessary strategic step to… maximize the value of Fisker’s core assets,” Fisker has confirmed it has laid off 75 percent of its employees. Read more in the official statement by scrolling down and in the Automotive News story linked below.
Over the last several months, Fisker Automotive Inc. has been considering strategic alternatives that would allow the Company work through its current financial challenges.
Throughout this process our primary goal has been to maximize the core value of the Fisker technology and the business that we have created.
Our efforts to secure a strategic alliance or partnership are continuing in earnest, but unfortunately we have reached a point where a significant reduction in our workforce has become necessary.
Today, Fisker met with a group of employees in our Southern California office to inform them that this is their last day with the company. Yesterday, we met with a core group of employees in Southern California to express our desire that they remain with the company while we continue to address the challenges before us. We expect that at the end of the day we will have retained approximately 25 percent of our workforce.
The Company regrets having to terminate any of its hardworking and talented people. But this was a necessary strategic step in our efforts to maximize the value of Fisker’s core assets.
