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December 24, 2007
CHARLESTON, S.C. - A company that makes armored military vehicles has fired most of its employees and shut down permanently, according to a report posted online Monday.
Protected Vehicles Inc. told its employees in a Dec. 19 letter that it was "unable to continue production operations" and that layoffs previously thought to be temporary were now permanent, according to the report on The Post and Courier of Charleston's Web site.
"We are unable to provide more notice of your termination because of business circumstances which were unforeseeable, and because the provision of any such notice would have precluded the company from obtaining the needed capital and investment we have been seeking," read a copy of a letter posted on the newspaper's Web site and signed by company chief executive Garth Barrett.
Telephone messages left Monday at the company and with an attorney for the business were not immediately returned.
Protected Vehicles abruptly ceased operations earlier this month.
It's unclear exactly how many people are affected by the layoffs. In the letter, Barrett wrote, "the vast majority of our employees are receiving this letter."
Protected Vehicles laid off 230 workers - about half of its employees - in August.
The company was founded in 2005 and builds armored trucks for the U.S. military. The company was sued earlier this year by fellow armored vehicle manufacturer Force Protection, which claimed Protected Vehicles stole trade secrets.
The armored military vehicle industry is going through difficult times. The Marine Corps recently decided to buy a third fewer bomb-resistant vehicles to protect U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan from deadly roadside bombs and some observers have said the reduced violence in Iraq may lead to fewer orders.
Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.charleston.net
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