Energy Conversion Devices Files for Chapter 11

WSJ ^ | 02-14-2012 | Patrick Fitzgerald

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The Auburn Hills, Mich., company filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit after it was unable to come to terms on an out-of-court deal with its convertible bondholders, according to Michael E. Schostak, director of business development at Energy Conversion Devices.

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Washington Post: United Solar’s Parent Company, Energy Conversion Devices, Has Struggled To Stay Afloat And It Has Faced Similar Financial Pressures To Those That Brought Down Solyndra. [Washington Post, 11/16/11]

2009: Energy Conversion Devices Announced A Restructuring Plan To Turn Around The Company, Including Laying Off 400 Employees. [Washington Post, 11/16/11]

2009: Two Weeks After Energy Conversion Devices Announced 400 Layoffs, Rep. Upton Requested The Loan Guarantee From Energy Sec. Chu. [Washington Post, 11/16/11]

Source

Michigan Solar Panel Factory's Labor-Intensive Assembly Tasks Moved To Mexico---Aug. 13, 2010

"Energy Conversion Devices of Auburn Hills MI recently received a $13 million stimulus tax credit to upgrade operations to produce a new, more efficient line of solar cells. The focus would be on mechanical and chemical engineering innovations, I assume. That government supported plan is still on course, apparently, although on a delayed schedule. That's the good news. Here's the bad news. ECD has announced it is terminating 140 Michigan jobs and moving final assembly tasks to Mexico. The unskilled labor part, in other words."
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Green Jobs That Can Be Outsourced