Aaron Glantz/The Bay Citizen

Solyndra's campus in Fremont

Former employees of the bankrupt Fremont-based solar panel maker Solyndra on Monday asked a federal bankruptcy judge to block $500,000 in bonuses to the company's remaining executives.

Solyndra, which abruptly ceased operations Aug. 31 despite having received $528 million in federal loans, had asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to provide 21 senior managers with bonuses averaging $23,000.

But the former employees, who have filed a class-action lawsuit against the firm arguing it failed to provide severance or give adequate notice of the shutdown, argued that the incentive packages will leave a smaller pool of money for creditors, including the laid-off workers.

"Over 1,000 of the debtors’ terminated employees are creditors,” attorney Fred Rosner wrote in a court filing on behalf of the workers. “[T]hey are on the outside, looking in. Hands cupped around eyes, eyes pressed against the glass, they strain to see what is going on inside,” while “the hallmarks of operating as a fiduciary in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case are disclosure and transparency.”

According to the filing, 7 of the 21 employees to whom Solyndra wants to provide bonuses have already received "very substantial" raises since the company declared bankruptcy — between 17 and 24 percent of their base salaries, which average more than $100,000 a year.