[tannerc]

Thought this was an interesting read.....

Quality management at "New Fisker" seems to be lacking from the view of current employees. Curious who the current Execs are and what their background is... Why don't they have profiles on their Execs? I imagine they must with their new site.

Who is the new CEO anyway? Anyone know if Bernhard Koehler still involved?

http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Fisker-Automotive-RVW5723996.htm

Jan 18, 2015

“Still the wrong management. ”

Current Employee - Engineer in Costa Mesa, CA
I have been working at Fisker Automotive

Pros
Nice/Capabale People. Good Location. A great opportunity and potentially a really cool product. Seemingly well funded. Used to have good benefits.

Cons
CEO is incompetent. (Jury is out in the COO) Chinese management is distant and completely unaware of how mismanaged some parts of the company are. Benefits are no longer competitive.

Advice to Management
Fire the CEO.

Doesn't Recommend
Neutral Outlook
Disapproves of CEO
Helpful

Feb 28, 2015

“cool product, but mostly prototype. Management plays games by making "dashboards" every week and not doing work. ”

Current Employee - Engineer in Costa Mesa, CA
I have been working at Fisker Automotive full-time (less than a year)

Pros
Being in California, electric vehicle technology, close to family.

Cons
Management plays political games with the parent company, Wanxiang Group. The most important task every week is to create so-called "dashboards" to show company progress.

Advice to Management
Fire 1/2 of the executive team. They are talkers not do-ers..

Recommends
Negative Outlook
Disapproves of CEO
Helpful

Feb 20, 2015

“Unique Company ”

Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
I have been working at Fisker Automotive

Pros
Good location and design of cars.

Cons
Poor and wrong management. COO came from aerospace industry and knew nothing about automotive. Whole management group is in lack of basic skills and visions. No decision was made in time and no correct decision was made. The morale of talented employees is low.

Advice to Management
Wanxiang need restructure Fisker by hiring excellent leaders.

 

[tannerc]

Feb 28, 2015
“A Place for Dog-and-Pony Show. No real substance ”

Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
I have been working at Fisker Automotive and Technology full-time (less than a year)

Pros
Great hybrid technology, Vehicle Exterior Design, Friendly People, Location

Cons
The management is interested in creating pretty presentations on paper, rather than focusing on automotive development. Recently, the company began creating "dashboards", that were meant to diagnose the issues within the company. However, the execution of this concept is poor and now it has turned into a forum for showcasing Microsoft Powerpoint and Excel skills. The President likes to give prep talks like in military but fails miserably when adding splashes of unsuccessful comedy into the speeches. The prep talks have no real substance and he dodges responsibilities when confronted with real engineering questions. The COO was hired to be a whipping boy so that the president does not need to be here all the time.

Advice to Management
Hire experienced, senior level executives from real OEM carmakers. The team of executive team has no experience. The executive team knows the lack of experience and they try to compensate it with ambiguous answers and wishy-washy plans that strings the mother company, Wanxiang Group, along. There are at least 5 people on the executive who do not belong there.

http://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Fisker-Automotive-and-Technology-EI_IE960997.11,43.htm

 

[DHH]

I kind of have the feeling we will never see the Karma or any other Fisker made again - If Saab couldn't rise from the ashes I see no way Fisker can pull it off.

I hope I am wrong as it is the most beautiful car ever made.

 

[Mikey43]

This is the first "important" thread that I have read in ages. We can speculate all we wish about the future of New Fisker, but when so many current employees are posting similar negative comments on Glassdoor, then -----well need we say more?

Pathetic!!

 

[Nin ja]

This is the first "important" thread that I have read in ages. We can speculate all we wish about the future of New Fisker, but when so many current employees are posting similar negative comments on Glassdoor, then -----well need we say more?

Pathetic!!

two to three does not equate to many, but it does represent smoke, so the question ... is there fire? - KARMANEWS on this board may shed some light, and put this narrative in the correct perspective - please no one call Eric Holder yet :angel:

 

[JCMorrill]

... And happy people generally don't bother to post on the internet, so all you're ever going to see are 100 to 1 complaints to compliments.

 

[DHH]

... And happy people generally don't bother to post on the internet, so all you're ever going to see are 100 to 1 complaints to compliments.

agreed - there is no doubt that the posts online are always substantially skewed negatively. That site where the posts are have few if any positive posts.

Hopefully we will all be relieved and Fisker will start making cars again but I doubt we will ever see that day and hope I am wrong.

 

[Fabulist]

I have never worked anywhere where someone was not happy about how the place is managed, and I doubt anyone ever posts to these types of sites if they are totally happy. I don't take these comments one way or another.

 

[JCMorrill]

Happy people do post here!

 

[Harleyguy]

I have a feeling the New Fisker had to bring back certain engineers that knew the design of the systems for the Karma. In order to update these systems you need the people who designed them . Current engineers might feel that the past engineers are reasonably for so many problems so why keep them of hire them back if they were unable to get it right the first time .

The internet is full of speculation at this point what the future of Fisker is going to be the only thing we can do as dealers is continue to work on the Karma and see what the future holds I believe I saw it posted somewhere that by the end of April we should know a lot more.

 

[shrowell]

All I see in these Glass door posts is the traditional tension between engineers and those responsible for selling/promoting the product. Engineers are frequently of the view that if you make a great product, that's all you need and it will sell. Unfortunately, history is full of failed companies with great technology (you could argue that the original Fisker was one of them). Marketing, which may just be meaningless PowerPoint presentations and dashboards to some, is what really drives a company's ultimate success. Just witness Apple. Their products are not that extraordinary any more (they are behind on so many things) but have a dedicated following that is often blind or dismissive of any failings. Apple's marketing skills are without compare and have allowed Apple to maintain their 60%+ profit margin on iPhones, for example.

As for the complaint that the Wanxiang leadership do not know what is going on, that's potentially another red herring; Tata bought Jaguar and famously left the guys in Coventry to do their own thing. With their strong financial backing, Jaguar is massively more successful and profitable than it was under Ford or as part of British Leyland (I remember the agonies of that time when I lived in the UK). I see Wanxiang's hands-off approach as very good news.

What I expect is of most interest to us Karma owners is the ongoing support network for our cars. It will definitely be interesting to see whether eLux (a perfectly good name - "Lexus" seemed a little odd when Toyota created it) establishes a new dealer network or whether they will follow the Tesla model - I would not be surprised if they do. Maybe cars will be bought online and serviced at authorized locations. That would work for me. I would just like to see some warranty coverage or at least an official location I could take my lovely EcoChic when she needs some TLC...

Apologies for the long thought-train.

Simon

 

[LonePalmBJ]

Happy people do post here!

Hey, we post to the Buzz!

I don't see many happy people posting to the "Glassdoor.com" website though. That's why I like it here better.

Seriously, I put no stock in the viewpoints of disgruntled employees who may or may not have a bias or all of the facts.

 

[Harleyguy]

I had a nice conversation with one of the executives today if you like it here wait till April and you will really like what's coming up.

 

[WATTGAS]

Thanks for the update Harleyguy. I am excited about the future and I don't worry about negativity posted on the Internet.

 

[sherrillt]

...by the end of April we should know a lot more.

Ah April - I was joking with my wife that they timed April with "Easter" as in "Resurrection" :angel:

 

[EVer1]

Fortunately they said late April, not the 1st of April.

 

[FiskerPhilly]

they've revealed alot of things to Adam and I, definitely exciting.

 

[sherrillt]

FiskerPhilly, you keep teasing us with the I know a secret but I won't tell ...you can at least hint by saying it its a major magnitude of goodness (major upgrades - ie batteries, and warranty) or minor goodness which I assume would potentially be free Elux badges and software updates for current owners...since our boot up screens will now most likely have an Elux logo.

I guess you'll now be EluxPhilly

 

[LonePalmBJ]

I know very few secrets but I can honestly say I'm more optimistic about my Karma and ongoing support and improvements for it than I have been anytime in the last two years. This isn't an April Fools joke; everything I see from ELUX leads me to believe they seriously value the existing owners as brand ambassadors and see it as part of their mission to do right by us. I don't know all the good stuff Adam and Joe are privy to, but I know that they aren't in the habit of blowing smoke.

And not that I needed a reminder, but yesterday I was stopped at red lights and TWICE had to roll down the window so that other motorists could tell me what a beautiful car I had and ask what it was. Not bad for a three year old model

Brent

 

[fiskerjim]

Ditto. I am revved about this car and always love the looks and conversations it enlists. We are all part of a cheap marketing program that "Elux" can build on.