Fisker’s liquidation plan, approved by a Delaware bankruptcy court, settles the issue of labor costs for two recalls affecting the company’s electric SUVs and resolves a last-minute data problem with American Lease.
Fisker, which declared bankruptcy four months ago, has laid out a plan to sell about $1 billion in assets, including manufacturing equipment used to produce its Ocean SUVs. The sale proceeds will go toward repaying Fisker’s creditors.
A major point of contention was the responsibility for labor costs related to two of the five outstanding recalls on the Ocean SUV. While three of the recalls can be addressed with a software update, two require part replacements. Fisker initially agreed to cover parts but reversed its decision on labor costs several times. The Department of Justice recently intervened, stating Fisker’s approach violated the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, prompting the company to adjust its liquidation plan.
According to the revised plan, owners who repair the two recalls before the plan’s effective date this week must pay labor costs upfront and submit reimbursement claims to the trustee overseeing Fisker’s liquidation. Owners who have already paid can also request reimbursement. Once the plan is in effect, repairs done at authorized service centers will not require payment for labor, and the service centers will instead submit claims for reimbursement.
Fisker also addressed a last-minute objection from American Lease, which bought 3,000 Ocean SUVs for $46.25 million. The leasing company had raised concerns over Fisker’s inability to transfer crucial cloud-hosted data to new servers, a necessary component for operating the vehicles. To resolve the issue, American Lease agreed to pay an additional $2.5 million over five years to manage the data services. The Fisker Owners Association will also gain access to this data, ensuring continued support for existing owners.
