Faraday Future Fires Furloughed Employees
American EV-startup Faraday Future has fired a number of employees who have been on unpaid leave for months, including manufacturing workers hired to staff the company’s factory in Hanford, California, that now has been empty for months.
SEE ALSO: Faraday Future Extends the Furlough While Seeking Investment
During the furlough that started in late 2018, the workers received benefits but the newly-fired employees will see those benefits expire by the end of this month, according to termination paperwork provided by an anonymous former employee to The Verge.
An anonymous Faraday Future employee told Action News how he was placed on furlough, with no work and no pay, holding out hope that the company would soon solve its financial issues, but was recently informed that he had been laid off.
“(It’s) a ruthless move that he only cared about his pockets and screwed all hard workin(g) people here (in the) valley who believed in him,” the employee said referring to company CEO Jia Yueting.
John Schilling, Faraday Future’s spokesperson said that “most” of the hundreds of workers who were on furlough had already “left on their own,” but the company made new cuts over the last few days. He explained that some workers still remain on furlough, but would not disclose the exact number. “I cannot share the exact number of furloughed workers we let go nor their roles at this time but the company still retains over 350 active workers in the US.”
The anonymous worker estimates that at least 150 Hanford employees have been fired since last fall and disagrees with the company’s assertion that most furloughed employees have quit.
The Hanford facility is a critical part of the production of Faraday’s all-electric FF 91 luxury vehicles and Schilling states that the factory is still part of the company’s business plan. “We will discuss our hiring status and the plans to restart our operations at our Hanford facility at a time when (it’s) appropriate,” said Schilling.
Featured photo credit to Faraday Future
