Canoo reportedly puts staff on ‘mandatory unpaid break’ for weeks [Video]

Canoo is having a very unmerry Christmas. Remaining employees of the beleaguered U.S. electric vehicle startup have been placed on a “mandatory unpaid break” according to TechCrunch, with no view to return for a few weeks at minimum. 

While it isn’t uncommon for businesses to close around the end of the year, Canoo’s decision to put staff on break from Monday is unlikely to be driven by holiday cheer. The company has been plagued by financial problems and furloughs, resorting to borrowing millions from CEO Tony Aquila‘s private equity firm AFV Management Advisors in order to stay afloat.

According to EV, staff were notified of the mandatory break via email last Friday, and told they would receive further updates to their personal email addresses in the first week of January. Employees’ access to Canoo’s system was apparently suspended by close of business the same day.

“We apologize for the timing of …