EKWB is the subject of a new report from Gamers Nexus claiming the liquid cooling component and prebuilt PC company is struggling to pay its bills, suppliers and employees. The report arrives off the back of a LinkedIn post by a former employee alleging various issues around the company’s conduct.
EKWB is a well-known liquid cooling company headquartered in Slovenia, though it has US operations under EK Cooling Solutions. Dan Henderson, a previous contractor of the company’s US branch, created a post on LinkedIn on Thursday claiming they had not been paid in four months.
“I’m hoping that this message gives them the shove they need, they pay up what they owe and more importantly, gets them to rethink the culture they’ve built,” Henderson said in the post.
Gamers Nexus picked up the post and proceeded to investigate further with EK’s former and current business partners, contractors and others, none of which are named bar Henderson. The former contractor received a cease and desist letter for their post on the platform, and was ordered to pay €70,000 due to a contractual breach of NDA.
Some entities spoken to by Gamers Nexus allege the company has not paid their wages, including current staff members, by up to four months; having overtime hours “shaved”, decreasing the amount of cash paid to them after the work is completed; and that financial issues are not correctly communicated. The video also states that EKWB has a tax forfeiture status in the state of Texas, where it moved operations after a rocky closure process in that state for existing staff, and that there are further signs of “liquidity challenges” at the company, Gamers Nexus suggests.
Other media partners have since cited issues working with EK. YouTuber der8auer has said he will no longer work with the company, initially citing issues with the direct die block that he worked to create with it for Intel’s 12th and eventually 13th Gen processors. However, they suggest they will no longer do business with the company due to the recent claims covered in Gamers Nexus’ video. They do not, however, have any outstanding debts with the company for the der8auer brand, though will not speak about the Thermal Grizzly brand, of which they are the CEO.
Other media partners have cited issues when working with the company as well.
Igor from enthusiast website Igor’s Lab claimed he has received the run-around from EK’s finance department in chasing money owed to him. Since publication of his article, Igor’s Lab received payment from EKWB.
In comment to Gamers Nexus, EK said “EK plans to remain in business and fully get back on its feet, hence the upcoming presence at Computex 2024, for the first time with our own booth.
“There are always two sides to the story. As for Daniel Henderson and his outreach on social media, we are sorry about his reaction. Some reasons for his vendetta are likely linked to previous management figures with whom we parted ways in February 2024. The new management distances itself from the practices of the past.”
The company’s founder, Edvard König, has assumed the role of CEO, after the previous CEO was removed around the start of the year.
We have spoken to EKWB and have been told it is preparing a statement. We’ll update this story if and when we receive it.
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