Today, Biden Lamented The Closure Of GM And Chrysler Plants In Delaware. BIDEN:“So what did we do? Our administration administered some very tough medicine. Everybody took a hit, including auto workers. My state of Delaware, which had one of the highest percentage of auto workers of any state in the nation, other than Michigan, we lost it all. Two biggest plants in the nation, I mean in our state, General Motors and Chrysler, been there for an average of 45 years each, at one time over 10,000 workers. Gone. Gone. It was tough medicine.” (Vice President Joe Biden, Remarks At Campaign Event, Dubuque, IA, 6/27/12)

Fisker Automotive Was Supposed To Reopen A GM Plant In Delaware With Stimulus Dollars But Has Instead Shuttered The Plant And Is Threatening To Take Its Jobs Elsewhere

In 2009, The Department Of Energy Granted Fisker A $529 Million Stimulus Loan Guarantee, $359 Million Of Which Was To Go Toward Reviving The Former GM Boxwood Plant In Wilmington, Delaware. “In September, Secretary Chu announced a $528.7 million conditional loan for Fisker Automotive for the development of two lines of plug-in hybrids, which will save hundreds of millions gallons of gasoline and offset millions of tons of carbon pollution by 2016. Of the total loan, $359 million is going to revive manufacturing at the Boxwood Plant.  The Boxwood Plant will support Fisker Automotive’s Project NINA, the development and build of a mass-market plug-in hybrid sedan.” (Press Release, “Vice President Biden Announces Reopening Of Former GM Boxwood Plant,” Office Of The Vice President, 10/27/09)

• Biden Attended The Re-Opening, Calling The Loan “Seed Money That Will Return Back To The American Consumer In Billions And Billions And Billions Of Dollars In Good, New Jobs.” BIDEN: “This is seed money that will return back to the American consumer in billions and billions and billions of dollars in good, new jobs.” (ABC News’ “Nightline,” 10/25/11)

In February 2012, Fisker Halted Work At Its Delaware Plant And Laid Off More Than 60 Workers After It Failed To Meet Production And Sales Milestones Promised In Its Loan Agreement. “Fisker Automotive, developer of luxury electric cars, halted work at a former GM plant in Delaware and laid off 26 workers there because it ran out of government loan money. Fisker had failed to meet production and sales milestones it had promised in the loan agreement with the Department of Energy, so loan cash was shut off last May. Fisker went on a cash diet, and solicited private investors, while it negotiated a new timetable with the DOE. The cash shortage finally forced the layoff of 26 people at the Delaware factory, which was most of the crew working there to get the former GM plant back into service. Fisker also sped up the layoffs of 40 to 45 engineers at its Anaheim, Calif., headquarters.” (James R. Healy, “Fisker, Out Of Government Money, Begins Layoffs,” USA Today, 2/7/12)

• The Layoffs Include 26 Workers At Its Wilmington, Delaware Plant And Another 40 Developing Its Luxury Car Line In Anaheim, California. “The layoffs include 26 workers at a former General Motors plant in Wilmington that Fisker is retooling to manufacture its Nina plug-in hybrid sedan. Another 40 contractors and employees who were working in design and development of Fisker’s Karma luxury car in Anaheim, Calif., also have been cut. The layoffs come as Fisker is seeking to renegotiate its loan agreement with the Department of Energy.” (“Electric Car Maker Fisker Announces Layoffs In Del., Calif. As It Renegotiates Loan Agreement,” The Associated Press, 2/6/12)

In April 2012, Fisker Laid Off 12 More Workers At Its Delaware Plant. “Fisker Automotive, the startup hybrid-electric carmaker backed by the state and federal governments, has laid off another dozen workers at its Newport-area factory. The layoffs, which occurred quietly Friday, come as the company continues closed-door negotiations with the U.S. Energy Department for a loan that could determine whether Fisker ever builds a car in Delaware. Meanwhile, the state continues to pay the utility bills for the factory, holding out hope that the automaker will still put scores of Delawareans back to work.” (Jonathan Starkey, “Fisker Plant ‘Absolutely Empty,’” The News-Journal, 4/17/12)

• “Today, Fisker Employs Only A Small Maintenance Team At The Site ‘Protecting Plant Assets And Maintaining The Facility,’ Said Fisker Spokesman Russell Datz.”(Jonathan Starkey, “Fisker Plant ‘Absolutely Empty,’” The News-Journal, 4/17/12)

Fisker Automotive May Not Build Its Hybrid Electric Vehicles In The United States Despite Receiving The $200 Million In Taxpayer Funds. “The luxury carmaker Fisker Automotive continues to signal it could ditch plans to build its next generation hybrid electric vehicle in the United States, despite the nearly $200 million in Obama administration loan money it has already received.” (Matthew Mosk, “Fisker May Never Build Electric Cars In US,” ABC News, 5/30/12)