SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — SunPower, the solar power giant originally based out of San Jose, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This comes just over a month after laying off more than 350 of its California employees.
SunPower leaders say they will be restructuring and selling off some of the company to Complete Solaria out of Fremont.
For nearly 40 years, SunPower has been keeping the lights on – through solar panels – in millions of homes nationwide.
“They were one of the early manufacturers of premium solar panels, they made some of the best solar panels in the business,” said Dustin Mulvaney, a professor of environmental studies at San Jose State University.
But on Monday, the company announced they’re filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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“As solar panels got cheaper and cheaper, it just became harder and harder for premium solar panel manufacturers that were using a little bit older technology to compete with …