Bankruptcy Looms As Fisker Lays Off 75% Of Its Workforce

Troubled electric car manufacturer Fisker Automotive laid off 160 employees — three quarters of its workforce — this morning, Katie Fehrenbacher at Gigaom reports.

Those let go include the public relations staff, according to the Detroit Free Press and Jalopnik.

53 employees will stay on staff to manage further business.

That business includes negotiating with the federal government: The first payment on the $193 million Fisker borrowed from the Department of Energy is due April 22.

The layoffs are the latest sign the company is about to go under. In October, A123, the manufacturer of its car batteries, declared bankruptcy. In late March, Fisker hired bankruptcy law firm Kirkland & Ellis, according to the LA Times.

Last week, it put its US workforce on furlough to save cash, calling it "common practice...to manage costs."

China's Geely Automotive, Fisker's best bet for a financial lifeline, dropped out of talks to buy the company last month, citing onerous conditions that come with paying back federal loan.

With the loan, the company was expected to save or create at least 5,000 jobs and build a manufacturing plant in Delaware that would produce as many as 100,000 cars annually.

More than three years later, however, Fisker has sold only around 2,000 of its high-end Karma, a car riddled with problems. Production of the Atlantic, the model meant to generate real profits, has been delayed to late 2014, and may never happen.

Henrik Fisker, who founded the company in 2007 and resigned last month, had no comment.