Newly unearthed documents reveal that the failed solar firm Solyndra fired nearly 800 more employees than it previously reported when it filed for bankruptcy last summer.
The company originally reported that it laid off 1,100 workers in total. But U.S. Labor Department documents, which were obtained by the San Francisco Bay Citizen under the Freedom of Information Act, show that 1,861 employees were shown the door in the days before the company collapsed.
The paper reports:
The documents also show the Fremont-based company increased production in 2011, even though it failed to sell all the panels it made the previous year.
By the time it closed last August, Solyndra had an unsold inventory of more than 23 megawatts – enough solar panels to power about 23,000 homes.
Analysts said the revelations are likely to add new fuel to the partisan fire surrounding the demise of Solyndra, which received a $535 million federal loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2009.