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Running Header: SAVING DOLLARS BY SPENDING PESOS 1
Saving Dollars by Spending Pesos
Ken Gentert
Wilmington University
SAVING DOLLARS BY SPENDING PESOS 2
Abstract
In early 2013, Bloom Energy was fined by the department of Labor for violating basic wage
laws. This came as a result from a whistleblower who was a contractor at the time. Bloom, who
at the time operated a plant in Mexico, would cycle flex labor, specifically welders to its
Sunnyvale, California plant. It continued to pay the workers their peso based wages, while
covering their hotels and providing a per diem. Lawmakers openly chastised Bloom for
engaging in such practices, while internally employees watched their executive team very closely
to see how they would respond and the changes that would be made to ensure that the ethical
climate of the company was restored.
Keywords: Bloom Energy, pesos, Department of Labor, whistleblower
SAVING DOLLARS BY SPENDING PESOS 3
Saving Dollars by Spending Pesos
Bloom Energy was founded in 2001 and is a Silicon Valley based startup that
manufactures solid oxide fuel cells. Bloom employs over 1,000 people internationally, with a
large footprint in both Sunnyvale, California and Newark, Delaware. At the time of the incident,
Bloom had received over $1 Billion dollars in venture capital investment. There were satellite
facilities in Taiwan, China, India, and Mexico carrying out various functions within the business.
If the market capital for every publically traded fuel cell company were to be combined, Bloom’s
would still exceed it. If the annual revenue for every publically traded fuel cell company were to
be combined, Bloom’s would still exceed it. [ CITATION Wes13 \l 1033 ] Bloom is the face of
fuel cells in world.
This first mover, market leading position brings with it a mountainous level of focus and
