Canoo furloughs workers and idles factory as it scrapes for cash

Struggling EV startup Canoo says it has furloughed 82 employees and is idling its factory in Oklahoma while it grasps for the capital needed to survive. The company claims it is in “advanced discussions with various capital sources” to raise emergency funding.

The announcement comes just a few days after board member James Chen resigned, and roughly one month after the company saw its chief financial officer and head lawyer depart. Canoo is also facing multiple lawsuits from suppliers over alleged late payments.

The new furloughs cap what has been a rough year for the startup. The company has undergone multiple rounds of layoffs and furloughs, and closed the Los Angeles office that used to serve as its headquarters. Canoo’s chief technology officer left in August, and all of the company’s founders are now gone. In the meantime, it has been kept afloat by loans from the venture firm run by its CEO, Tony Aquila.

It’s unclear what Canoo was making at its facility in Oklahoma before deciding to pause operations there. So far, the company has delivered electric vans to NASA, USPS, Walmart, and the Department of Defense for testing. But it has failed at its broader ambitions of ramping up manufacturing for other commercial customers.

In an unsigned statement, Canoo said: “We regret having to furlough our employees, especially during the holidays, but we have no choice at this point. We are hopeful that we will be able to bring them back to work soon.” Aquila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.