Tesla rival Windrose faces cash shortage as 100 workers leave over unpaid wages

Windrose Technology is facing a fresh crisis as Chinese employees leave, claims for back pay mount and its founder seeks new investment.

Windrose Technology once promised to challenge Tesla in the electric-truck market. Now, about 100 Chinese employees have left after the startup fell behind on wage payments, according to people familiar with the matter.

The departures highlight mounting pressure on a company that has spent years pursuing ambitious plans to sell battery-electric lorries around the world. Chief executive Wen Han says he is restructuring the business and seeking additional investment.

Workers Leave as Wages Go Unpaid

Windrose made only a partial payment of back wages by the 30 August deadline agreed through Chinese arbitration, according to sources familiar with the matter. Some workers were owed up to five months of salary, including a 2025 year-end bonus equivalent to two months' pay, the sources said.

Dozens of employees reportedly resigned after wage payments stopped in April. Some took their complaints to labour arbitration in Hefei, where most of the company's Chinese staff are based. Further payments are due in September, sources said.

The departures have also created an operational challenge. Windrose is now without much of the team responsible for developing its trucks just as it seeks to expand sales and attract more investment.

From Tesla Challenger to a Company in Retreat

Windrose rose to prominence by promising a new generation of battery-electric heavy-duty trucks. Han said the company had raised about $400 million from Chinese and US banks and investors. The startup also announced plans for factories and assembly sites in Europe and the United States. Han said he aimed to take the company public in the US before the end of this year.

But those ambitions have come under pressure. The company faces a lawsuit, regulatory scrutiny and questions over its financial position. Most of its roughly dozen US workers had already resigned or been dismissed after seeking unpaid wages, according to earlier reporting by The Wall Street Journal. The latest departures in China suggest that the payroll problems extend beyond its US operations.

Han Promises a Leaner Future

Han said Windrose is restructuring to operate with fewer employees and attract more investment. Under the new plan, the company would move away from designing truck bodies and focus instead on developing and improving software for trucks produced by contract manufacturers.

Many companies have had to make a difficult pivot, Han said, adding that Windrose was doing the same. The change would give the company a different role in the electric-truck industry. Rather than relying as heavily on its own manufacturing operations, it would focus more on technology and software.

Han said Windrose had already begun delivering trucks to customers in the US and Australia. He also said the company had a path to sell more heavy trucks, raise funds and repay workers.

The Funding Question

Windrose's financial difficulties have raised questions about how far its expansion plans can go. Han previously said the company had raised $100 million in equity and was seeking a further $100 million. He also maintained that it had enough funding to pursue an aggressive plan to sell trucks across the Americas, Europe and Oceania.

But the unpaid wages have become a visible sign of the strain facing the business. Han acknowledged in July that Windrose had payroll problems. He also argued that some criticism from US employees reflected anti-Chinese animus. The latest complaints from Chinese workers suggest that the dispute is not confined to one country.

A Public Listing Still on the Horizon

Despite the setbacks, Han said he still hopes to take Windrose public this year. He acknowledged that he is known for setting highly aggressive goals. That ambition has helped define Windrose from the start. The company promised to move quickly into a market dominated by established manufacturers while developing a new type of electric truck for customers around the world.

It must now prove that it can bridge the gap between those promises and its current financial reality. For workers waiting for unpaid wages, the issue is more immediate than a future IPO: whether the company can meet its commitments to the people who helped build it.

Originally published on IBTimes UK