Our Daily Saab: No Salaries (Blame The Chinese). And A Duncecap For Saabsunited

It has become a tradition at the „iconic” Saab: For the sixth month in a row, former carmaker Saab can’t make payroll. Saab employees did read the familiar note on their website today that salaries are “delayed.” Their head of HR, Johan Formgren, told them that sadly, he cannot “confirm any exact date when the salaries will be paid.” Saab spokesman Eric Geers told the media that he also does not know when wages will be paid. And who is to blame? Victor Muller? Fugitive Valdimir Antonov? All-around-whipping post GM?

No way. It’s the Chinese.

In a text message cited by Göteborg Expressen, Victor Muller writes:

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Saab Wants To Sell Shares To Meet Payroll. Union: "We Have Not Seen Any Money Yet"

Swedish Automobile NV, the artist formerly known as Spyker, and owner of struggling Swedish car maker Saab, said today it plans to issue new shares to raise cash in order to meet overdue payroll. Response of the union: “Show me the money.”

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The End Is Near: Saab Can't Meet Payroll

And this is how it usually ends. Saab spokesperson Gunilla Gustavs said “it is regrettable to have to notify staff of the day before midsummer,” that Saab is unable to pay this months wages to its employees. What’s more, Saab has no idea if and when it will send out paychecks again. “It is impossible to make any sort of forecast, except to repeat that the company is trying to solve this as quickly as possible,” said Gustavs to the wire-service TT [via TheLocal].

Saab employees were told via email this Thursday morning that no money will hit their accounts by month’s end.

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  • Probert They already have hybrids, but these won't ever be them as they are built on the modular E-GMP skateboard.
  • Justin You guys still looking for that sportbak? I just saw one on the Facebook marketplace in Arizona
  • 28-Cars-Later I cannot remember what happens now, but there are whiteblocks in this period which develop a "tick" like sound which indicates they are toast (maybe head gasket?). Ten or so years ago I looked at an '03 or '04 S60 (I forget why) and I brought my Volvo indy along to tell me if it was worth my time - it ticked and that's when I learned this. This XC90 is probably worth about $300 as it sits, not kidding, and it will cost you conservatively $2500 for an engine swap (all the ones I see on car-part.com have north of 130K miles starting at $1,100 and that's not including freight to a shop, shop labor, other internals to do such as timing belt while engine out etc).
  • 28-Cars-Later Ford reported it lost $132,000 for each of its 10,000 electric vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2024, according to CNN. The sales were down 20 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and would “drag down earnings for the company overall.”The losses include “hundreds of millions being spent on research and development of the next generation of EVs for Ford. Those investments are years away from paying off.” [if they ever are recouped] Ford is the only major carmaker breaking out EV numbers by themselves. But other marques likely suffer similar losses. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fords-120000-loss-vehicle-shows-california-ev-goals-are-impossible Given these facts, how did Tesla ever produce anything in volume let alone profit?
  • AZFelix Let's forego all of this dilly-dallying with autonomous cars and cut right to the chase and the only real solution.