Tuesday, October 16, 2012

More Bad News from Obama's A123, Just In Time For The Debates

Sometimes, you just can't hold the bad news until beyond the election.

The Detroit Free Press: Battery-maker A123 Systems will miss a crucial bond payment

Battery-maker A123 Systems will miss a crucial bond payment that could push it into a bankruptcy filing, according to a filing the company made Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Waltham, Mass.-based manufacturer, which employs about 700 people at its plants in Livonia and Romulus and an Ann Arbor research center, told the SEC that it is exploring "strategic alternatives to address" its deteriorating financial situation.

"The company may not have sufficient cash to fund operations and may need to seek the protections provided under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to, among other things, obtain access to new financing and facilitate one or more of the transactions it is contemplating," A123 said. "No assurance can be given that the company will be able to avoid restructuring, reorganization, or a bankruptcy filing."

The filing adds to the uncertainty about the company's future just two months after Chinese auto supplier Wanxiang Group agreed to invest up to $450 million to acquire as much as 80% of A123.

Apparently President Obama is quite adept in picking winners and losers and consistently picking the losers.

It's also a potential political problem for the Obama administration, which gave the company a $249.1-million grant in 2009. A123, which once promised to add several thousand jobs in Michigan, also won more than $125 million in tax credits and grants from the State of Michigan in 2008 and 2009.

One certainly hopes the debate moderators will bring up this series of green job fiascoes by the Obama administration. Any bets?

1 comment:

MSgt B said...

and it never came up.

I was expecting Mittens to jump at the chance to talk about the "green energy" BS when the bamster brought it out, but he let it slide.