Former Solyndra CEO got $456K severance

[November 02, 2011]  DOVER, Del. (AP) -- New court documents show the founder and former CEO of solar panel maker Solyndra Inc. negotiated a severance package worth almost half a million dollars.

Documents the company filed in bankruptcy court in Delaware also show the executive, Chris Gronet, was terminated July 1, almost two months before Solyndra announced he was leaving.

The company received a $528 million federal loan and was touted by the Obama administration as a "green jobs" creator.

The documents, filed Monday, show Solyndra paid more than $17,000 to its bankruptcy law firm in early February. That was two weeks before finishing a loan restructuring in which some $70 million borrowed from private investors got priority for repayment over $385 million in taxpayer money.

Solyndra filed for bankruptcy protection in September.

[Associated Press; RANDALL CHASE]

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