By RON SELAK JR.

Staff writer

LORDSTOWN — The founder and former CEO of Lordstown Motors Corp. continues to dump stock in the struggling startup electric-vehicle maker, this time more than 4.3 million shares, according to a regulatory document filed Thursday.

Steve Burns sold the shares over seven transactions since May 5 — also the date he informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission he shed 4.9 million shares earlier — that netted the Cincinnati-area resident more than $1.5 million.

The document shows Burns still owns more than 12.4 million shares of Lordstown Motors common stock, or about 5.2 percent.

According the document, Burns sold:

• 500,000 shares at an average price of 35 cents May 5;

• 1 million shares at an average price of 36 cents May 8;

• 273,776 shares at an average price of 34 cents May 9;

• 1 million shares at an average price of 35 cents May 10;

• 657,010 shares at an average price of 35 cents May 11;

• 753,982 shares at an average price of 34 cents Monday; and

• 160,879 shares at an average price of 32 cents Tuesday.

Burns began unloading his stock in November 2021. So far, he shed more than 33 million shares worth more than $62 million.

Burns abruptly resigned in June 2021 without reason from Lordstown Motors, but his departure was in sync with an admission by the company that statements on preorders for the company’s first vehicle, the Endurance, were inaccurate.

Under the new leadership, the company sold the plant to global electronics and technology firm Foxconn for $230 million last year and has shifted away from manufacturing toward engineering and developing electric vehicles.

It has, however, struggled as of late.

In recent months, supplier part quality issues caused the company to temporarily stop production of and to issue three voluntary recalls for its first vehicle, the battery-

powered Endurance

truck.

Also, Lordstown Motors finds itself at an impasse in discussions with Foxconn over future funding that’s part of a $170,000 million equity investment agreement they signed in November.

Without Foxconn closing on a common stock purchase worth about $47.2 million — an event that could have happened May 8 — and other obstacles in Lordstown Motors’ way, the company has stated in other SEC filings it could be forced to file for bankruptcy protection.

Foxconn also agreed to purchase up to $70 million more shares in preferred stock once certain milestones related to predevelopment and design activities of a new joint EV program were achieved.

The first round of the funding for about $52.7 million in common and preferred stock closed Nov. 22.

Foxconn claims Lordstown Motors breached the agreement when it received a delisting notice from Nasdaq, the exchange where the company’s stock is traded, for falling below $1 per share for 30 days in a row. Foxconn gave Lordstown Motors 30 days to cure the breach.

When stockholders of Lordstown Motors meet Monday, they could vote to approve a way to pump up the weak stock through a stock split. At the end of trading Thursday, the stock closed at 30 cents per share, up one penny from its previous close.

rselak@tribtoday.com