Mike: former SolarZero employee reveals what went wrong for the company

More details have emerged in the wake of SolarZero’s shock liquidation, which affected 160 employees.

The company revealed on Tuesday that the business was unable to continue trading, citing 'unsustainable operating losses and liquidity constraints'.

Former employees have since spoken out against the company -  and one of them, Mike, has unveiled some concerns ahead of a planned protest tomorrow.

"The main thing we want to try and get across is - we were made redundant 4pm on Tuesday, no redundancy, no notice period, no holiday pay, we have a significant number of our staff that live week by week."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now, former staff of solar panel subscription business Solar Zero
are planning to protest outside the multinational investment company black
Rocks office Auckland Office tomorrow after black Rock unexpectedly put
Solar zero into liquidation. Now in twenty twenty, a fund
managed by black Rock became Solar Zero's sole shareholder, and
earlier this week Blackrock then made the decision to liquidate

(00:22):
the business. Mike is an ex employee of Solar Zero.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Hey Mike, Hi, Heather, how are you well?

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Thanks mate? What are you guys going to be protesting?

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Look?

Speaker 3 (00:32):
I think Heather, there's a sort of the main theme
we want to try and get across. As you know,
we were made redundant four pm on Tuesday.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
No redundancy, no notice periods, no holiday pay.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
We have a significant number of our staff that live
week by week.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
We've got a number of work permit holders.

Speaker 3 (00:56):
The desperation and the frustration from these guys is just
it's so heartbreaking.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
It's not funny.

Speaker 3 (01:03):
You know, you've got an eleven trillion dollar company, foreign
investor which we're trying to attract establish themselves in New Zealand.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
This year.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
The setup offices beginning of the year, and within a
year they have pretty much screwed over one hundred and
sixty five people plus plus all our subcontractors and whatnot.
So what we're essentially aiming to get is what is owed,
which is the holiday pay that constitutes around it's around

(01:35):
about one point four million. Notice period for those staff
would be around one point six million. We have about
three hundred thousand dollars outstanding with our contractors, and then
our subcontractors, which is our field service providers all around
the country are owed in total around six hundred grand.

(01:55):
And you know, these guys are some of them are
small operators and this this could actually you know, cause
them to fold.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
So it's really worrying.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
And what it does is, I think is that if
we let this, let this go go by, I think
it's it's a really dangerous president for other foreign investors
coming in thinking that they can treat New Zealand citizens
and work permit holders like crap.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Now, now, if I added that up correctly, then you're
saying that in total the amount oded is about four million, about.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Four million, yeah, which is jump change for these guys.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
Quite for black Rock, which is you know, worth close
to what twelve trillion US dollars four million is absolutely nothing. Yeah,
and you want them to make good.

Speaker 3 (02:39):
Absolutely, It's an ethical thing, you know, I think, you know,
even if the simplistic wave and look, I'm not a
financial person by any stretch of the imagination, but it
sort of the black rock by the debt from the liquidata.
They can pay the staff without any you know, avoiding
any arguments around priority payments and stuff like that. And

(02:59):
it really, as much as it's really sad to see
solar zero fold, this will at least, you know, keep
the walls from the door for a little bit for
these guys. And when we have to, you know, remember
this is literally the worst time to be made redundant,
a one month out from Christmas.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
You know, these guys.

Speaker 3 (03:18):
I just I actually see potentially some really awful things
coming out of this if it can't be resolved.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
So what's gone wrong for the business, because I mean
this was something that was supposed to be doing really well.
It had one hundred and ninety five million dollars in
credit lines, government had opened a facility of one hundred
and forty five million for them. So what's gone wrong?

Speaker 3 (03:38):
I think from someone who wasn't in the in the
financial side of things, in very sort of middle management.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
You know.

Speaker 3 (03:45):
We think the staff were incredibly passionate. They really wanted
a really positive outcome for customers. Was quite a complicated
setup in order to be able to get that that
financing facility and create you know, these this energy service
that you know, would save customers. You know, I think
the average savings over twenty years and now our twenty

(04:07):
five year contract was around twenty grand, you know, fixing
in your up to ninety percent of your of your electricity.
You know, such a good thing, right and sort of
because over time energies prices are increasing at least five
or six percent a year in the country. But we
just I think, look, I think personally, I think there

(04:28):
was probably things could have been handled a bit better
with EZEC. I think we also too, We're very close
to being break even by the end of this financial year,
you know, June next year. But for some reason, the
tap got turned off by black Rock and decided to liquidate,

(04:49):
which again I don't think is that common in this country,
and just yeah, are really sad state of affairs. I mean,
they Blackrock invested in US because we're doing some some
technology smarts that actually know we're our in the world's
been done and it's you know, it's it's it's a
real void, I think, you know, and it's not great
a great look for solar in New Zealand. We've only

(05:11):
got a three percent solar penetration here, so three percent
of homes here have solar where is our Ozzie neighbors
have thirty seven percent? And you know this is it's
just another kick in the guts for a pretty pretty awesome,
you know, energy energy service that you know, could really

(05:31):
really help kiwis.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
Mike listen, best of luck of the protests and thanks
for talking us through it. It's Mike, who's a form
of solar zero employee.

Speaker 3 (05:39):
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