Distressed electrical automobile startup Canoo says has laid off 82 staff and is shutting down its manufacturing unit in Oklahoma because it seeks the capital it must survive. The corporate says it’s in “superior discussions with numerous capital sources” to lift emergency funds.
The announcement comes simply days after board member James Chen resigned, and a few month after the corporate noticed its monetary director and its foremost lawyer go away. Canoo additionally faces a number of calls for of suppliers for alleged late funds.
The brand new licenses cap what has been a troublesome yr for the startup. The corporate has gone by way of a number of rounds of layoffs and furloughs, and closed the Los Angeles workplace that used to function its headquarters. Canoo CTO left in augustand all of the founders of the corporate are not right here. In the meantime, it has been keep afloat due to loans of the enterprise agency led by its CEO, Tony Aquila.
It is unclear what Canoo was manufacturing at its Oklahoma facility earlier than it determined to droop operations there. To this point, the corporate has delivered electrical vans to NASA, USPS, Walmart and the Division of Protection for testing. But it surely has failed in its broader ambitions to extend manufacturing for different industrial clients.
In an unsigned assertion, Canoo stated: “We remorse having to furlough our staff, particularly throughout the holidays, however now we have no different possibility at the moment. We’re hopeful we are able to get them again to work quickly.” Aquila didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
