Saab admits it cannot pay staff

Factory staff at Saab were not paid as usual yesterday after the car-maker said it did not have the money to meet the commitments.

The company was meant to pay blue-collars workers yesterday, with the white-collar staff due to receive pay cheques on Monday. But Swedish Automobile – which was previously known as Spyker when it bought Saab last year, said it had "not yet obtained the necessary short-term funding".

The company added: "Swedish Automobile and Saab Automobile are in discussions with various parties to obtain short-term funding, including via the sale and leaseback of the real estate of Saab that was announced previously, and with their financiers in connection with current financing arrangements. These discussions are ongoing."