Fisker Lays Off Most Of Their Employees

By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

April 5, 2013

The string of bad news continues for Fisker Automotive. The struggling automaker announced today in a statement that the company let go 75% of its staff (about 160 people) during a meeting this morning.

"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," the company said in a statement today.

Source tells Reuters the reason for the lay offs is a last ditch effort to help conserve cash and stay off a potential bankruptcy filing.

Fisker will be retaining about 53 employees, mostly senior managers and executives to help pursue buyers for the company's assets a source says.

This news follows on the heels on a story this past week where Fisker was furloughing employees as a way to conserve cash. The company also hired law firm Kirkland & Ellis to advise on a possible bankruptcy filling.

Source: Fisker, Reuters

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.comor you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

Press Release is on Page 2

Statement of Fisker Automotive Inc., Friday, April 5, 2013

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.