Canoo reportedly puts staff on 'mandatory unpaid break' for weeks

Canoo is having a very unmerry Christmas. Remaining employees of the beleaguered U.S. electric vehicle startup have been placed on a "mandatory unpaid break" according to TechCrunch, with no view to return for a few weeks at minimum. 

While it isn't uncommon for businesses to close around the end of the year, Canoo's decision to put staff on break from Monday is unlikely to be driven by holiday cheer. The company has been plagued by financial problems and furloughs, resorting to borrowing millions from CEO Tony Aquila's private equity firm AFV Management Advisors in order to stay afloat.

SEE ALSO: Canoo unveils electric pickup truck that's way smaller than the Tesla Cybertruck

According to EV, staff were notified of the mandatory break via email last Friday, and told they would receive further updates to their personal email addresses in the first week of January. Employees' access to Canoo's system was apparently suspended by close of business the same day.

"We apologize for the timing of this message," Canoo's email read, as sighted by EV. "Please take this time to have a restful and enjoyable holiday season with your family."

Mashable has reached out to Canoo for comment, though we aren't expecting a reply considering that they're all reportedly on leave.

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Last Wednesday Canoo announced it had furloughed 82 employees and was idling its Oklahoma factories, suspending work while attempting to secure the funding needed to continue operating. This followed a 12-week furlough of 30 Oklahoma factory workers which was previously announced in November. 

"We regret having to furlough our employees, especially during the holidays, but we have no choice at this point," said Canoo in a brief statement last week. "We are hopeful that we will be able to bring them back to work soon."

This news is likely unsurprising to anyone following the startup's struggles. Several executives have left Canoo in the past few months, including its last remaining co-founder. The company is also facing multiple lawsuits, some of which concern allegations of unpaid bills. 

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Last month Canoo reported having only $700,000 in cash reserves, its stock sitting at just $0.086 as of writing. The company lost over $300 million in 2023 alone, bringing in a mere $886,000 in revenue — and spending twice as much on Aquila's private jet travel. 

Last year, Oklahoma approved up to $100 million in performance-based state incentives for Canoo over the next 10 years. Speaking to News 4 last week, the Oklahoma State Department of Commerce noted that it had only paid Canoo $1 million to date, and that "if necessary, [it] will explore avenues to claw back public dollars."

Canoo isn't the only electric vehicle manufacturer who seems to be ramping down this month. Tesla also temporarily suspended Cybertruck production in early December, telling workers at its factory in Austin not to report for their shifts for three days.