After receiving nearly $250 million in federal money, A123 Systems is filing for bankruptcy. Is this unexpected news by any chance?
You know, can we finally say that Obama's green stimulus is a failure? Can we do that? Or do we suddenly have the 5,000,000 jobs? Maybe in October's jobs numbers...
From the Bloomberg article by Dawn McCarty and Craig Trudell:
"A123 Systems Inc. (AONE), the electric car battery maker that received a $249.1 million federal grant, filed for bankruptcy protection after failing to make a debt payment that was due yesterday.
"The filing may fuel further political debate over government financing of alternative-energy and transportation businesses. Federal grants and loans to companies including A123, Fisker Automotive Inc. and Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) have drawn scrutiny from congressional Republicans following the September 2011 bankruptcy filing of solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC two years after it received a $535 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Energy Department.
[...]
"A123 fell as much as 18 cents, or 76 percent, to 6 cents a share in over-the-counter trading as of 12 p.m.
"A123, which received a $249.1 million federal grant in 2009 to build U.S. factory capacity, needed a financial lifeline after struggling with costs from a recall of batteries supplied to Fisker, the plug-in hybrid luxury carmaker. A123 announced in August that it was working on a deal with Wanxiang Group Corp., China’s largest auto-parts maker, for financing in exchange for a majority ownership stake.
[...]
"President Barack Obama called A123’s CEO Vieau and then- Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm during a September 2010 event celebrating the opening of the plant in Livonia that the company received the U.S. grant to help build.
"'This is about the birth of an entire new industry in America -- an industry that’s going to be central to the next generation of cars,' Obama said in the phone call, according to a transcript provided by the White House. 'When folks lift up their hoods on the cars of the future, I want them to see engines and batteries that are stamped: Made in America.'
"Electric-vehicle sales since 2011 totaled fewer than 50,000 through September, just 5 percent of Obama’s target to have 1 million such vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015.
[...]
"A123 has posted at least 14 straight quarterly losses. Its shares had fallen 85 percent this year to 24 cents as of yesterday’s close in New York. [emphasis mine]"
Huh. I guess bitter clingers are just too dumb to understand how these kinds of performances are ultimately good for our economy.
Hope & Change...
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