Lordstown Motors, an electric truck start-up with former ties to Cincinnati, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and plans to sue one of its partners, Foxconn, for not living up to its commercial and financial commitments.
Steve Burns started Lordstown Motors in 2019, buying GM's massive plant. He told WVXU he would hire hundreds of laid-off UAW workers if he could reach a deal with the union.
He was also hoping to get a U.S. Postal Service contract for electric vehicles and was one of five finalists. That didn't happen, and then there were claims of fraud.
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A report by short-seller Hindenburg Research accused Lordstown of overinflating orders, a claim it denied. Burns quit the company in 2021 and sold the remainder of his shares in the last few weeks.
The current owner has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
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“We remain confident that an orderly, expedited sale process will maximize value for our stakeholders and enable the talent and technology behind the Endurance to find new and supportive ownership," says Edward Hightower, CEO and president of Lordstown Motors.
The company is putting its Endurance pick-up truck on the market. Burns once described the truck as “rugged, no frills, utilitarian, get-the-job-done work trucks."
