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Faraday Future's Last Founding Executive Resigns, Plans Emergency Fund For Employees (theverge.com)
Faraday Future, the startup that is working on a luxury self-driving electric car that looks to rival Tesla, is facing some management and investment issues. All five of the company's "founding executives" have resigned. The latest is Dag Reckhorn, Faraday Future's senior vice president of global manufacturing. "The news comes after investor trouble sparked two wild weeks of layoffs and salary cuts that quickly turned into furloughs and executive departures at the EV startup, and a co-founder calling the company 'effectively insolvent,'" reports The Verge. "Reckhorn said in his email to staff that he is working to establish an emergency fund for employees affected by the furlough." From the report: "I am heartbroken to have to let you know, that I will leave FF effective today," Reckhorn wrote in the email, which was sent to the company's remaining staff. "There are legalities that force me to do so. Please do not believe that I am ditching the best team I ever worked with." Faraday Future spokesperson John Schilling confirmed Reckhorn's resignation. "We thank him for his service to FF and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors," he said.
Reckhorn mentioned in the email that he is "think[ing] about opening an emergency fund" for employees in "dire needs" as a result of the furlough, and that he's putting in $10,000 to start. "Other colleagues are free to join and donate as well," he wrote. The hope is to "help [employees] as best as the available funds allow." Before the layoffs and furloughs, Faraday Future still had around 1,000 employees in the US. Following a now-prolonged fight with its main investor, China's Evergrande Real Estate Group, Faraday Future announced the furloughs (or forced unpaid leave) to employees on Tuesday. All workers who joined the company after May 1st of 2018 were automatically furloughed, while full-time employees who have been with Faraday Future since before that date were given the opportunity to stay on board at a reduced salary rate of $50,000 per year. Hourly employees who joined Faraday Future before May 1st were given the opportunity to stay on at $13.25 per hour. The "legalities" Reckhorn mentioned have to do with what's known as "director and operator insurance (or D&O insurance)." According to The Verge, citing two former employees, "D&O is a type of liability insurance that protects a company's directors and operators from legal retribution in the event of a lawsuit."
Reckhorn mentioned in the email that he is "think[ing] about opening an emergency fund" for employees in "dire needs" as a result of the furlough, and that he's putting in $10,000 to start. "Other colleagues are free to join and donate as well," he wrote. The hope is to "help [employees] as best as the available funds allow." Before the layoffs and furloughs, Faraday Future still had around 1,000 employees in the US. Following a now-prolonged fight with its main investor, China's Evergrande Real Estate Group, Faraday Future announced the furloughs (or forced unpaid leave) to employees on Tuesday. All workers who joined the company after May 1st of 2018 were automatically furloughed, while full-time employees who have been with Faraday Future since before that date were given the opportunity to stay on board at a reduced salary rate of $50,000 per year. Hourly employees who joined Faraday Future before May 1st were given the opportunity to stay on at $13.25 per hour. The "legalities" Reckhorn mentioned have to do with what's known as "director and operator insurance (or D&O insurance)." According to The Verge, citing two former employees, "D&O is a type of liability insurance that protects a company's directors and operators from legal retribution in the event of a lawsuit."
You're supposed to leave AFTER the IPO.
There are TWO battery car companies named after these inventors. Short the DC motor inventor, not the AC motor inventor.
It is easy to remember: AC and DC duked it out at the turn of the 20th century. DC promoted by Edison and Genelec lost and AC promoted by Westinghouse won. Remember that to know which one to short and which one to long. ok?
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
"safe" - like when you breathe exhaust and get a cancer?
Now who can argue with that? I think we're all indebted to 140Mandak262Jamuna for clearly stating what needed to be said. I'm particulary glad that these lovely children were here today to hear that speech. Not only was it authentic frontier gibberish, it expressed a courage little seen in this day and age.
>> electric car company Tesla
"I know, let's name our competing company Edison, no Faraday! And sell penny stocks to suburban rubes!"
>> $10k for 1000 employees
Thanks, that's enough for a buritto at a shitty chain like Chipotle minus drink out here in the sticks. I'll bet $10 goes even further in Silicon Valley.
One investor is always a bad move, especially if that one investor wants to control your capitol with an eyedropper. Might as well have a boss.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
This was NEVER going to be built here. All that Jia Yueting was interested in, was obtaining any and all tech from CA, esp. from Tesla. All of this will go back to CHina and be used to create the cars over there. This is no different than how outsourcing has been going on with India.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
But can we focus on the fact that the spokesperson is named John Schilling? This person knew his calling.
So, crowd-funded corporate welfare. I hope this money isn't going into corporate coffers: Once the CEO gets his grubby hands on it, the corporation can do what they like with that money, regardless of their policies for employees.
"he's putting in $10,000 to start. "Other colleagues are free to join and donate as well"
What a piece of shit.
"I will leave FF effective today"
This should be the death note for that employer-spread lie about having to give 2 weeks. Give your employer what they're worth. Might be 2 weeks, might be 30 seconds. But don't give them a second more then they're worth.
The "legalities" Reckhorn mentioned have to do with what's known as "director and operator insurance (or D&O insurance)." According to The Verge, citing two former employees, "D&O is a type of liability insurance that protects a company's directors and operators from legal retribution in the event of a lawsuit."
I'm betting that they could no longer get this type of insurance, so they're leaving before they get personally sued. I sure wouldn't want to stay and be potentially personally liable for anything that the company gets sued for.
I'm pretty sure you're right. When a company goes under, investors frequently sue the directors and officers, claiming that they did something questionable or even just stupid. Frequently those suits are unsuccessful, but defending yourself from such a suit is very expensive.
D&O insurance covers the cost of defending the officers and directors, unless they:
Did something illegal (ie a crime)
Fail to disclose conflicts of interest
Breach their duties to the company or shareholders
Make personal use of business assets
Those four things aren't covered by the insurance. Presumably the "practically insolvent" company won't be able to get / pay for the insurance starting November 1. It WILL cover executives for actions taken while the policy was in force. Therefore executives don't want to take ANY action after October 31, least they be sued for it (even in a frivilous lawsuit).
It's too bad, but if you looked at the cars between the two companies Tesla not only had much better design, but also way more realistic to produce cars.
At some point there is probably a place for some exotic electric supercar but there I have my money placed more on the truly high end car makers than an upstart - though even there Tesla might do something that would gain traction.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
You seem to think federal prison is a bad place to be. It is better than the freshman dorm room you are posting from.
It seems they are going overboard with originality when it comes to naming. Are the next electric car companies going to get named Coulomb or Ampère ?
There is less sodomy in federal prison.
If you have you face near the tail pipe, you have bigger problems my friend.
A head hunter called me a couple months ago offering me sysadmin position at the Tulare CA plant they were starting up, at a really good rate. Something diddnt smell right so I did not go for it, and now I'm really glad I didn't.
I won't get Cancer, that only happens to other people.