August 29th, 2011
By: Kraig Koch
Swedish auto maker Saab Automobile AB may be forced to file bankruptcy by week’s end over unpaid wages, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
In an interview with the newspaper, Darko Davidovic, a lawyer for labor union IF Metall, said that Saab received requests for payment on Aug. 26 for 1,486 union members’ monthly wages.
"This time we had access to the company’s payrolls, which was much faster than collecting pay slips from each of our members," Davidovic told the paper.
Saab has seven days from its receipt of the requests to pay its staff. If payment is not received by Friday, Sep. 2, IF Metall will have a three-week window to file an involuntary bankruptcy against Saab in Swedish court.
Under the bankruptcy process, wages will be covered by the state if the automaker is unable to make the payments on its own.
Payments for blue-collar Saab employees were scheduled for Thursday, Aug.25, and scheduled for white-collar employees the following day.
In the days preceding the payment date, the automaker announced that it may be forced to postpone payments as it waited to receive "committed" funds from investors, but could not guarantee that the funds would be obtained.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Saab Automobile’s white-collar workers union is currently gathering pay slips that have not been honored from its nearly 1,000 members. The union intends to send the requests to the company Tuesday.
The present situation marks the third consecutive month that Saab has allegedly failed to pay wages to its 3,600 employees on time. Wages for June and July were reportedly paid about one week after their scheduled dates.
Production has been halted since April at Saab Automobile’s Trollhattan plant due to unpaid supplier bills. Previously, the company announced that it hoped to resume production this week, but those plans have been delayed due to the current lack of funding for both wages and suppliers.
"Our ambition is to pay the wages," a spokesman told The Wall Street Journal, "but we don’t have a financial solution in place at this time."
PAID ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT: THIS WEB SITE IS A GROUP ADVERTISEMENT AND THE PARTICIPATING ATTORNEYS ARE INCLUDED BECAUSE THEY PAY AN ADVERTISING FEE. It is not a lawyer referral service or prepaid legal services plan. Total Bankruptcy is not a law firm. Your request for contact will be forwarded to the local lawyer who has paid to advertise in the ZIP code you provide. Total Bankruptcy does not endorse or recommend any lawyer or law firm who participates in the network nor does it analyze a person's legal situation when determining which participating lawyers receive a person's inquiry. It does not make any representation and has not made any judgment as to the qualifications, expertise or credentials of any participating lawyer. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. The information contained herein is not legal advice. Any information you submit to Total Bankruptcy does not create an attorney-client relationship and may not be protected by attorney-client privilege. Do not use the form to submit confidential, time-sensitive, or privileged information. All photos are of models and do not depict clients. All case evaluations are performed by participating attorneys. An attorney responsible for the content of this Site is Kevin W. Chern, Esq., licensed in Illinois with offices at 25 East Washington, Suite 400, Chicago, Illinois 60602. To see the attorney in your area who is responsible for this advertisement, please click here, or call 866-200-8052.
FLORIDA ONLY: Total Bankruptcy is considered a lawyer referral service in the state of Florida under the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct. By all other standards, Total Bankruptcy is a group advertisement and not a lawyer referral service.
If you live in Mississippi, Missouri, New York or Wyoming, please click here for additional information.
By an Act of Congress and the President of the United States, we are a federal Debt Relief Agency. Attorneys and/or law firms promoted through this Web site are also federally designated Debt Relief Agencies. They help people file for relief under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Disclosures Required Under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.