Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Struggling EV startup Canoo on Wednesday that it has furloughed another 82 employees, just one week after confirming the second temporary workforce reduction.
In a statement, the company led by Tony Aquila said the latest furlough affects “both salaried and hourly” workers adding that it is “idling its factories in Oklahoma while it works to finalize securing the capital necessary to move forward with its operations.”
Last Friday, Canoo confirmed in a SEC filing that it had furloughed “an additional 10 employees” bringing the total number to “50 non-essential employees over the last 90 days.” With the new round, the number climbs to 132 workers.
The company’s stock closed 7.3% higher on Wednesday at $0.126. As recently approved by shareholders, Canoo will be eyeing a reverse stock split to regain compliance with the Nasdaq.
However, the priority is now to secure enough funding to sustain its daily operations for the next weeks and months. The Texas-headquartered start-up said on Wednesday’s filing it is “in advanced discussions with various capital sources.”
“We regret having to furlough our employees, especially during the holidays, but we have no choice at this point. We are hopeful that we will be able to bring them back to work soon,” Canoo said in a statement.
While Canoo did not disclose which teams were affected in last week’s furlough (or their duration), affected employees told EV that the furlough period is twelve weeks, or roughly three months — the same as in the previous round announced in early November.
Earlier this week, Canoo and its SPAC sponsors secured a fresh legal victory as the Delaware Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of investor claims alleging the company misled shareholders during its blank-check merger.
The ruling affirms an earlier Delaware Chancery Court decision rejecting claims by a Hennessy Capital LLC investor, who argued shareholders were deceived in the December 2020 SPAC deal that took Canoo public. The high court unanimously ruled that the chancery’s dismissal should stand, Justice Karen L. Valihura said in the court filing.
Canoo shares rose 54% to $0.17 in Monday’s after-market session following Bloomberg’s report. The stock had dropped 16% on Tuesday, closing at $0.11.
The company announced last Friday that James C. Chen, a former Tesla and Rivian executive, has resigned and will depart the Board of Directors less than a year after joining.
Chen’s departure follows the announcement of another round of furloughs last week, which the company confirmed in the same SEC filing.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
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