Faraday Future says hundreds of furloughed employees won’t return to work next week – The Verge
What happened: Hundreds of Faraday Future employees who were placed on furlough in December won’t return to work on March 1, according to an internal email obtained by The Verge. The workers were put on unpaid leave following a series of pay cuts and layoffs last year.
Why it’s important: Faraday was embroiled in a months-long dispute with Chinese real estate company Evergrande, the electric vehicle manufacturer’s largest outside shareholder. The spat came after Faraday asked the Chinese firm for an advance on a future installment that formed part of Evergrande’s investment. Evergrande refused, but the two companies came to an agreement in January, in which Evergrande terminated the deal and permitted Faraday to look for new investors, though it still holds a non-controlling stake in the electric vehicle startup. A number of executives, including co-founder Nick Sampson, left the company in the midst of the dispute. However, Faraday hasn’t been able to secure further investment, exacerbating its cash crunch and delaying its plans to bring back furloughed employees.