An electric heavy-duty truck start-up that competes with Tesla: Employee wages are in arrears
Electric heavy-duty truck start-up Weidu Technology is now in internal chaos, owed a large amount of money, and is mired in federal lawsuits. The whereabouts of a heavy-duty truck worth US$285,000 is unknown. At the beginning of this year, Weidu Technology was once regarded as a new star disrupting the global freight truck industry: the company completed US$400 million in financing to build a cutting-edge electric heavy truck and compete head-on. Semi electric truck. But by March this year, the company was in chaos, with CEO Han Wen even asking about the whereabouts of a $285,000 truck. Two former employees, Travis Waite and Harold Keller, who were fired in January this year, said they would not cooperate in recovering the vehicle unless Hanwen paid a total of US$91,000 in arrears of wages and benefits to them. The two said they still have not received their back wages and the truck is still missing. Han, 36, who holds a master's degree in business administration from Stanford University, denied the former employees' claims and called the salary amounts they sought "baseless." This labor-capital confrontation has exposed the current crises of Wedu Technology. This company has received a lot of media exposure before, and was once compared with innovative companies such as self-driving company Waymo. Multiple former employees revealed that the various troubles faced by Hanwen continue to develop, and the problems have long gone beyond the tight cash flow common to most startups. The Chinese-controlled, Belgium-based company is now saddled with multiple debts, is embroiled in federal court lawsuits, and is being investigated by U.S. transportation safety regulators over trucks it claims are manufactured in Georgia. In an interview, Han Wen admitted that the company had delays in salary payment, but said that the company had sufficient financial reserves and was continuing to promote market expansion in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. He also said that he is encountering prejudice and hostility against Chinese people in the United States. "My main job is to create high-quality products, not to make everyone like me." Han Wen said frankly, "My pace of recruiting and expanding was indeed too fast and too aggressive." Weidu Technology CEO Hanwen holds the Global E700 heavy truck model Hanwen still maintains aggressive expansion plans. He said that Weidu Technology has received orders for more than 150 trucks in the United States, Norway, Chile, and Australia this year, and at the same time continues to promote the implementation of vehicle factory and assembly cooperation projects in Europe and the United States. Hanwen plans to complete its listing this year through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). "This is the first year that we will officially enter the market in an all-round way, and the company will be profitable by the end of the year." “The technical strength of this product is very impressive” The electric heavy truck industry is still in its early stages of development. S&P Global Mobility data shows that of the 2.4 million heavy-duty trucks produced globally last year, pure electric models accounted for just over 10%. Han Wen, who once worked for a Chinese self-driving truck company, said he captured business opportunities when the electric vehicle industry exploded in the early 2020s: "I realized that the market needed a better truck." In 2022, Han Wen founded Weidu Technology, first landing in the Chinese market, and then setting up offices in the United States and Belgium. Hanwen said that its first model, the R700, will be on the road in China at the end of 2024, and a total of 36 vehicles have been launched globally. Weidu heavy-duty trucks focus on helping global logistics fleets completely eliminate diesel vehicles: the cruising range is , twice the size of similar electric trucks from Volvo, equipped with charging ports on both sides of the body, and priced about $100,000 less than competing products. Xie Yihao, a senior researcher at the International Council on Clean Transportation, commented: "The technical solution of this car is quite eye-catching. As a Chinese car company, it has a highly integrated supply chain and is extremely cost competitive." Han Wen said that Weidu's core advantage over competing products is that the vehicles are manufactured in China and then shipped to regional partners for local assembly. The company’s financing comes from venture capital and hedge funds in China and the United States. None of the relevant investors responded to media requests for comment. Many former employees raised questions: While the company was expanding on a large scale and making frequent cooperation commitments, it was unable to pay employees' wages on time.
In Belgium, Hanwen sponsored a basketball team near the Antwerp headquarters to get a photo opportunity with the Belgian Prime Minister; in France, he promised to build a truck factory, was invited to attend industry summits, and took a photo with French President Macron suitable for social platform dissemination. In the United States, Hanwen pledged to donate $15 million to his alma mater, Stanford University, if Weidu successfully went public (Stanford did not respond to requests for comment). In an interview with the New York Times in March last year, he said that there are already simple vehicle assembly plants in California and Georgia, and plans to complete an IPO soon and build a U.S. factory in 2027. However, former employees revealed that in reality, Weidu had difficulty obtaining orders in Europe, and behind-the-scenes operational problems continued to worsen. Many employees said that without getting paid, they had no confidence to go out and conduct vehicle demonstrations. Excerpts from internal work chat records Employee Kyle Markey: Mr. Hanwen, when will the arrears of wages be paid? I spent an hour with Penske Logistics this morning, and the other party wanted to arrange a vehicle demonstration. Without money, I can't advance this work at all. I really don't want to miss the opportunity for cooperation, but I can't make promises to customers that I can't keep. Hanwen: I am working hard to raise money this week. Thank you for sticking to the company. If it is really difficult to support, I completely understand your choice to find another job. In July, the company's official credit cards were all overdrawn and had no balance. Employee Harold Keller: Mr. Hanwen, the vehicle test bench has malfunctioned again, and the demonstration activities in 13 days may be affected. Early next week we also need vector inspection equipment to debug the automatic driving assistance system of the No. 1 trial vehicle. The equipment preparation period will be as long as two weeks, which will delay the demonstration progress. Korean: I just made a payment to the test bench equipment supplier; Jason Gies, please resubmit a simplified version of the CANoe equipment purchase payment application, and I will process it within 24 hours. As of August, salary delays continue. Employee Jason Gies simultaneously informed Jacob Vaca and Travis Waite: The company informed that this week’s salary payment will be postponed to August 15, and I am deeply sorry for this. Korean: It is my decision to defer everyone’s salary. I will settle everyone's historical salary arrears, this week's technician salary, and August 15th current salary in one go on August 15. Thank you for your patience. "I approve of the product, but never trust Korean" In May last year, operations director Kyle Markey complained about unpaid wages within the company group. In March, Michigan’s labor regulator ordered Weidu Technology to pay nearly $10,000 in back wages and interest. Hanwen said it would pay the amount, but it disputed the amount and may file a counterclaim. Last October, Jason Gies, then the head of North American operations, hired a lawyer to claim unpaid wages. He claimed that he was fired from the company a few days later, and filed a federal lawsuit over this. In January this year, a judge ruled that Weidu Technology must pay US$413,000 in back wages and severance compensation. Neither Hanwen nor Weidu Technology appeared in court during the trial; Hanwen said it would overturn the verdict and argued that Jisi's dismissal was justified. Michael Pitt, Gies' attorney, countered that the dismissal was an act of retaliation, and the root cause was Gise's request for unpaid wages. Many former employees raised the same question: Weidu Technology has a huge amount of financing, where does the money go? Han Wen said that he has never concealed the company's financial status: "I am indeed overly optimistic, which is a common shortcoming of entrepreneurs." In a previous interview, Han said that the company had raised a total of US$400 million in financing; recently he changed his mind and said that the company currently has US$100 million in equity funds and a US$200 million credit line, and is still promoting a new round of US$100 million in equity financing. "The core of a company is not to hoard huge amounts of cash, but to make efficient use of funds and achieve positive cash flow profits as early as possible, rather than blindly saving money." Han Wen explained the logic of fund use. At the same time, Hanwen faces more regulatory questions. Currently, Weidu has four heavy-duty trucks in the United States, and the vehicle identification numbers (VIN) of at least two of them indicate that they were produced in Georgia, but Korean admitted that the vehicles were actually produced in China. Weidu Technology transports Chinese-made heavy-duty trucks to its Georgia factory in the United States
The relevant person in charge of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that the regulatory agency is requiring Weidu Technology to submit additional relevant materials. Falsifying vehicle origin information can result in civil fines of up to nearly $28,000 for a single violation. Han Wen blamed the VIN labeling error on the former employee, saying that the company always clearly informed customers that the vehicle was produced in China and would complete compliance registration in the future. Jason Reicht, who once worked for Nikola Trucks and later served as an external consultant for Wedu, said that the falsification of vehicle identification numbers has made people question all the information submitted by the company to regulatory agencies, including vehicle safety-related declaration materials. "Fake vehicle identification number labels are tantamount to ignoring the entire industry compliance supervision process. Once such a problem occurs, the outside world will immediately doubt the authenticity of all compliance declarations by the company." Waite, the former driver and technician who was previously accused by Han Wen of refusing to cooperate in recovering the truck, said the company owed him nearly $30,000 in salary. He said that every time the salary was delayed, Han Wen could always give an excuse and promised that the problem would be solved soon. "I approved of the truck product, but I never really trusted Hanwen as a person," Waite said.
In Belgium, Hanwen sponsored a basketball team near the Antwerp headquarters to get a photo opportunity with the Belgian Prime Minister; in France, he promised to build a truck factory, was invited to attend industry summits, and took a photo with French President Macron suitable for social platform dissemination. In the United States, Hanwen pledged to donate $15 million to his alma mater, Stanford University, if Weidu successfully went public (Stanford did not respond to requests for comment). In an interview with the New York Times in March last year, he said that there are already simple vehicle assembly plants in California and Georgia, and plans to complete an IPO soon and build a U.S. factory in 2027. However, former employees revealed that in reality, Weidu had difficulty obtaining orders in Europe, and behind-the-scenes operational problems continued to worsen. Many employees said that without getting paid, they had no confidence to go out and conduct vehicle demonstrations. Excerpts from internal work chat records Employee Kyle Markey: Mr. Hanwen, when will the arrears of wages be paid? I spent an hour with Penske Logistics this morning, and the other party wanted to arrange a vehicle demonstration. Without money, I can't advance this work at all. I really don't want to miss the opportunity for cooperation, but I can't make promises to customers that I can't keep. Hanwen: I am working hard to raise money this week. Thank you for sticking to the company. If it is really difficult to support, I completely understand your choice to find another job. In July, the company's official credit cards were all overdrawn and had no balance. Employee Harold Keller: Mr. Hanwen, the vehicle test bench has malfunctioned again, and the demonstration activities in 13 days may be affected. Early next week we also need vector inspection equipment to debug the automatic driving assistance system of the No. 1 trial vehicle. The equipment preparation period will be as long as two weeks, which will delay the demonstration progress. Korean: I just made a payment to the test bench equipment supplier; Jason Gies, please resubmit a simplified version of the CANoe equipment purchase payment application, and I will process it within 24 hours. As of August, salary delays continue. Employee Jason Gies simultaneously informed Jacob Vaca and Travis Waite: The company informed that this week’s salary payment will be postponed to August 15, and I am deeply sorry for this. Korean: It is my decision to defer everyone’s salary. I will settle everyone's historical salary arrears, this week's technician salary, and August 15th current salary in one go on August 15. Thank you for your patience. "I approve of the product, but never trust Korean" In May last year, operations director Kyle Markey complained about unpaid wages within the company group. In March, Michigan’s labor regulator ordered Weidu Technology to pay nearly $10,000 in back wages and interest. Hanwen said it would pay the amount, but it disputed the amount and may file a counterclaim. Last October, Jason Gies, then the head of North American operations, hired a lawyer to claim unpaid wages. He claimed that he was fired from the company a few days later, and filed a federal lawsuit over this. In January this year, a judge ruled that Weidu Technology must pay US$413,000 in back wages and severance compensation. Neither Hanwen nor Weidu Technology appeared in court during the trial; Hanwen said it would overturn the verdict and argued that Jisi's dismissal was justified. Michael Pitt, Gies' attorney, countered that the dismissal was an act of retaliation, and the root cause was Gise's request for unpaid wages. Many former employees raised the same question: Weidu Technology has a huge amount of financing, where does the money go? Han Wen said that he has never concealed the company's financial status: "I am indeed overly optimistic, which is a common shortcoming of entrepreneurs." In a previous interview, Han said that the company had raised a total of US$400 million in financing; recently he changed his mind and said that the company currently has US$100 million in equity funds and a US$200 million credit line, and is still promoting a new round of US$100 million in equity financing. "The core of a company is not to hoard huge amounts of cash, but to make efficient use of funds and achieve positive cash flow profits as early as possible, rather than blindly saving money." Han Wen explained the logic of fund use. At the same time, Hanwen faces more regulatory questions. Currently, Weidu has four heavy-duty trucks in the United States, and the vehicle identification numbers (VIN) of at least two of them indicate that they were produced in Georgia, but Korean admitted that the vehicles were actually produced in China. Weidu Technology transports Chinese-made heavy-duty trucks to its Georgia factory in the United States
The relevant person in charge of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that the regulatory agency is requiring Weidu Technology to submit additional relevant materials. Falsifying vehicle origin information can result in civil fines of up to nearly $28,000 for a single violation. Han Wen blamed the VIN labeling error on the former employee, saying that the company always clearly informed customers that the vehicle was produced in China and would complete compliance registration in the future. Jason Reicht, who once worked for Nikola Trucks and later served as an external consultant for Wedu, said that the falsification of vehicle identification numbers has made people question all the information submitted by the company to regulatory agencies, including vehicle safety-related declaration materials. "Fake vehicle identification number labels are tantamount to ignoring the entire industry compliance supervision process. Once such a problem occurs, the outside world will immediately doubt the authenticity of all compliance declarations by the company." Waite, the former driver and technician who was previously accused by Han Wen of refusing to cooperate in recovering the truck, said the company owed him nearly $30,000 in salary. He said that every time the salary was delayed, Han Wen could always give an excuse and promised that the problem would be solved soon. "I approved of the truck product, but I never really trusted Hanwen as a person," Waite said.