- The couple previously had each received $710,000 in cash bonuses.
- Fisker plans to sell its remaining inventory of Ocean SUVs to New York-based American Lease.
- All Fisker Ocean models must be repaired due to a water pump fault.
Henrik Fisker and his wife, Geeta Gupta-Fisker, are lowering their salaries to just $1 to ensure enough funding for the company’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.
Earlier this month, a lawyer for the office of the U.S. Trustee asked Fisker’s restructuring officer John DiDonato, if Fisker and his wife remained on the payroll as the company slipped into bankruptcy. He could not say how much they were being paid but claimed their salaries were “undertaking a modification.” In 2022, they each made the Californian minimum wage of $62,400, plus $710,000 in cash bonuses.
Read: Fisker Firesale Dumps Remaining Ocean EVs For $2,500 To $16,500
Following a spate of issues with its cars, heaps of negative press, and managerial problems that scuppered its ability to provide spare parts, among other problems, Fisker officially filed for bankruptcy protection in June, although the writing had been on the wall for quite some time.
As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, Fisker plans to sell its remaining inventory of 3,231 Ocean SUVs to New York-based American Lease in a deal worth $46.3 million. The leasing company had originally agreed to buy 2,100 Oceans but later increased this order to 3,231. However, Fisker won’t simply be able to dump these EVs on American Lease and call it a day.
All Fisker Ocean models are the subject of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall related to a faulty water pump that can cause the high-voltage battery to lose power. As such, all models must be fixed before being sold. Tech Crunch reports that Fisker plans to parcel out roughly 200 Oceans at a time to the leasing company as it works through repairing them.
A second company has also approached Fisker, although it is subject to an NDA, and it’s unclear what assets it’s willing to buy and how much it’s willing to spend.
While the dying carmaker focuses on repairing and selling its remaining inventory, a legal battle is ongoing between Fisker’s long-secured creditor Heights Capital Management and the firm’s many unsecured lenders. The firm owes more than $850 million to two groups of bondholders. Heights Capital Management used Fisker’s late release of audited financial statements under its debt agreements in November 2023 to claim all of Fisker’s assets as collateral on its bonds. It’s now first in line for Fisker’s remaining assets, upsetting other lenders.
