Washington — Former Fisker CEO and co-founder Henrik Fisker said he will testify before Congress and disclosed
he received no severance, pension or other benefits when he left the struggling plug-in hybrid automaker last month.
In an interview late Wednesday, Fisker said he had asked for reimbursement for travel expenses after discussing the issue with a House staff member.
"If they are not going to reimburse me as guided by (a staff member),
I am still planning to travel on my own expense to testify as I have nothing to hide."
Fisker told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he received nothing when he left Fisker Automotive Inc.
"
I do not have a job or permanent income at the moment. I left the company without any severance, benefits, or pension or any equity," Fisker told the committee in an email Wednesday.
Fisker said he has
stock options that represent less than 0.7 percent of Fisker "which are not liquid and have no value."
On Friday, Anaheim, Calif.-based Fisker, which has been beset by problems and funding shortfalls, laid off 75 percent of its staff — about 160 of its employees, including its entire public relations department — as it searches for an investor or buyer and prepares for a possible bankruptcy. Several published reports said the carmaker was actively making preparations for a bankruptcy filing that could come within a week.
In 2009, Fisker won $529 million in low-cost Energy Department loans and spent $193 million, mostly to develop its Karma model. The electric car, whose fan base included singer Justin Bieber, actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former Vice President Al Gore, was designed and engineered in the United States but assembled in Finland.
The Energy Department froze the rest of the loan in 2011 amid problems at Fisker. The Energy Department would be Fisker's top creditor if the company filed for bankruptcy and would have to decide what to do with the firm.
Last month, the Energy Department disclosed it doesn't plan to award any more loans from the $25 billion auto loan program created by Congress in 2007, despite having $16.6 billion remaining and seven applications pending.
Fisker, 49, a well-regarded former BMW, Aston-Martin and Ford Motor Co. designer, founded the startup luxury firm, Fisker Coachbuild, in 2004, which eventually became Fisker Automotive in 2007, when it merged with another firm.
He resigned last month as executive chairman after stepping down as CEO in February 2012. Since then, the company has been run by former Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda, and now Tony Posawatz, a former General Motors electric vehicle executive.
"It's probably the most difficult decision I've ever made, but you know it was a decision that was necessary as I had major disagreements with the current executive management," Fisker said in a telephone interview last month. "It would be wrong to stay."
The company has sold about 2,000 plug-in electric hybrid Fisker Karma cars that sell for around $100,000.
Last month, he turned in his company car, but didn't completely walk away from Fisker Automotive.
"I don't get a free car because I walked away," Fisker said. "I wanted to support my local dealer."
He walked into a Fisker dealership in Santa Monica, Calif., and paid full price for a blue Fisker Karma, which retails for around $102,000.
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From The Detroit News:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130410/AUTO01/304100473#ixzz2QAufvqKT