GT To Stop Production In Sapphire Plant, Accuses Apple Of 'Oppressive" Contract Terms
GT Advanced Technologies Inc., will close an Arizona plant expected to make sapphire screens for Apple and suggested it could pursue legal claims against the iPhone maker while revamping under bankruptcy. GT Advanced reached an agreement with Apple last year to transform itself from a supplier of sapphire furnaces to a manufacturer of sapphire for Apple. Apple provided $578 million in funding for the Arizona plant, and GT Advanced agreed to repay the money over five years, starting in 2015.
Surpisingly, GT Advanced filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday.
According to a filling submitted on Friday by GT Advanced with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manchester, New Hampshire, the company calls for the court to terminate its contracts with Apple.
"As discussed in detail in the Supplemental First Day Declaration, the agreements imposed oppressive and burdensome terms and obligations on GTAT," the company writes in one motion. "The contracts and leases...provide no benefit to GTAT's estates, and GTAT's continued performance under the Agreements is no longer a viable business option. GTAT has determined that the Agreements are no longer necessary for GTAT's business operations. The Agreements also are not a source of potential value for GTAT's future operations, creditors, or interest holders and constitute an unnecessary drain on GTAT's resources."
GT plans to winds down the operations in the Arizona plant in order to stop its mounting losses and re-focus its resources on the operation of its core business.
The company said it could not pursue the unspecified claims at the outset of its bankruptcy.
Apple said it remains committed to preserving jobs in Arizona and was consulting with state and local officials on its next steps.
However, GT Advanced would be liable for $50 million for each violation of the confidentiality agreement.