by Wynton Hall The latest taxpayer-funded clean energy debacle–A123 Systems, an electric car battery company–” has laid off 125 employees and had a net loss of $172 million through the first three quarters of 2011,” reports the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
In a September 2010 Huffington Post piece, then-Governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm hailed A123 Systems as a stimulus “success story” and defended the $390.1 million in federal and state subsidies this way:
You can see the pride in the faces of A123’s workers and hear it in their voices. They know they’re helping shape our nation’s clean energy future, and leading Michigan’s economic recovery. Half of the new hires at A123’s Livonia facility were previously unemployed. This is a powerful demonstration of the job-creating potential of clean energy.
A123 Systems’ new Livonia facility is a Recovery Act success story.
Now, the clean energy battery maker that received $390.1 million in federal and state subsidies has slashed jobs and posted massive losses.
But that hasn’t stopped A123 Systems’s top brass from giving themselves raises:
This month A123’s Compensation Committee approved a $30,000 raise for [David] Prystash just days after Fisker Automotive announced the U.S. Energy Department had cut off what was left of its $528.7 million loan it had previously received.Prystash wasn’t the only executive to see a big raise this month. Robert Johnson, vice president of the energy solutions group, got a 20.7 percent pay increase going from $331,250 to $400,000, while Jason Forcier, vice president of the automotive solutions group, saw his pay increase from $331,250 to $350,000. Prystash’s raise was 8.5 percent, going from $350,000 to $380,000.
The raises were reported by the company in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.The pay hikes are also raising eyebrows. Paul Chesser, an associate fellow for the National Legal & Policy Center, said, “It looks highly suspicious. It looks like they are trying to pad their top people’s wallets in case something really bad happens.”
No word yet from former Governor Jennifer Granholm on whether she still considers A123 Systems a stimulus “success story.”
Big Government
