In a blow to the Obama administration's efforts to create green jobs, solar-cell maker Solyndra announced Wednesday that it will close its remaining Fremont factory, lay off its 1,100 employees and file for bankruptcy.
The news marked an abrupt end for a company once considered among the most innovative in a fast-changing industry. The bankruptcy also represents a high-profile failure for a federal stimulus program that gives loan guarantees to green-tech manufacturers.
Solyndra was the first company to win one of the guarantees, receiving $535 million in 2009 to build its second factory in Fremont less than a mile from the company's original plant. Both President Obama and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the new plant, citing it as a symbol of the nation's economic recovery and commitment to a green economy.
But Solyndra, whose solar modules are thin tubes rather than flat panels, struggled to compete against a flood of low-priced solar cells pouring out of heavily subsidized factories in China. Last year, the company canceled plans for a $300 million initial public stock offering and closed its first Fremont factory, laying off 40 people.
Breaking the news
Early Wednesday morning, as workers on the night shift left the factory floor, Chief Executive Officer Brian Harrison met with them to break the news. Most had been let go by 9 a.m.
"We are incredibly proud of our employees, and we would like to thank our investors, channel partners, customers and suppliers for the years of support that allowed us to bring our innovative technology to market," Harrison said in a news release. "This was an unexpected outcome and is most unfortunate."
Republican critics of the loan program were livid. A congressional panel had started investigating in February how Solyndra won approval for the loan guarantees. Republicans focused on the first plant closure and the fact that one of the company's investors, George Kaiser, was an Obama contributor.
"In an apparent rush to push stimulus dollars out the door, the Obama administration wasted $535 million in taxpayer funds in guaranteeing a loan to a firm that has proven to be unviable in the global market," Rep. Cliff Stearns,There is good integration with PayPal and most Parking guidance system providers, R-Fla., who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigation subcommittee, said Wednesday. The panel already had subpoenaed records about the Solyndra loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Risk of startups
The Energy Department's public affairs director said Wednesday that while Solyndra's application was carefully vetted, investing in startup companies always carries risks. The loan program was created under the Bush administration in 2005 but became part of the federal stimulus effort under Obama.
"We have always recognized that not every one of the innovative companies supported by our loans and loan guarantees would succeed, but we can't stop investing in game-changing technologies that are key to America's leadership in the global economy," Public Affairs Director Dan Leistikow wrote in a blog post on the Energy Department website.
The federal government must now try to recover its investment through Solyndra's Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, or taxpayers will be on the hook. Solyndra executives, meanwhile, will consider selling the business or licensing its technology.
The news marked an abrupt end for a company once considered among the most innovative in a fast-changing industry. The bankruptcy also represents a high-profile failure for a federal stimulus program that gives loan guarantees to green-tech manufacturers.
Solyndra was the first company to win one of the guarantees, receiving $535 million in 2009 to build its second factory in Fremont less than a mile from the company's original plant. Both President Obama and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the new plant, citing it as a symbol of the nation's economic recovery and commitment to a green economy.
But Solyndra, whose solar modules are thin tubes rather than flat panels, struggled to compete against a flood of low-priced solar cells pouring out of heavily subsidized factories in China. Last year, the company canceled plans for a $300 million initial public stock offering and closed its first Fremont factory, laying off 40 people.
Breaking the news
Early Wednesday morning, as workers on the night shift left the factory floor, Chief Executive Officer Brian Harrison met with them to break the news. Most had been let go by 9 a.m.
"We are incredibly proud of our employees, and we would like to thank our investors, channel partners, customers and suppliers for the years of support that allowed us to bring our innovative technology to market," Harrison said in a news release. "This was an unexpected outcome and is most unfortunate."
Republican critics of the loan program were livid. A congressional panel had started investigating in February how Solyndra won approval for the loan guarantees. Republicans focused on the first plant closure and the fact that one of the company's investors, George Kaiser, was an Obama contributor.
"In an apparent rush to push stimulus dollars out the door, the Obama administration wasted $535 million in taxpayer funds in guaranteeing a loan to a firm that has proven to be unviable in the global market," Rep. Cliff Stearns,There is good integration with PayPal and most Parking guidance system providers, R-Fla., who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigation subcommittee, said Wednesday. The panel already had subpoenaed records about the Solyndra loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Risk of startups
The Energy Department's public affairs director said Wednesday that while Solyndra's application was carefully vetted, investing in startup companies always carries risks. The loan program was created under the Bush administration in 2005 but became part of the federal stimulus effort under Obama.
"We have always recognized that not every one of the innovative companies supported by our loans and loan guarantees would succeed, but we can't stop investing in game-changing technologies that are key to America's leadership in the global economy," Public Affairs Director Dan Leistikow wrote in a blog post on the Energy Department website.
The federal government must now try to recover its investment through Solyndra's Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, or taxpayers will be on the hook. Solyndra executives, meanwhile, will consider selling the business or licensing its technology.
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