Chinese firm BYD must reimburse the state of California with 247.5 million dollars. The deal was contingent on a undisclosed amount of PPE face mask inventory being readily available by May. The total cost to taxpayers of California was nearly 1 billion dollars (990 million to be exact). At a price point of $3.30 per N95 mask the deal was hardly cost efficient at all given the quantity ordered. The Chinese electric car company was not producing these face masks prior which lead to the inevitable delay of production.
54.9 million dollars was allocated to purchase surgical masks, masks that contain the same 95% BFE standards as their N95 and KN95 counterpart.
“We negotiated a pretty good price in the middle of all this,” Newsom said, however there is plenty of inventory available at a much more affordable price point given the quantity the state of California purchased. Keep in mind California is the 8th largest economy in the world and can afford large purchases of this nature. According to Sergio Fernandez de Cordova the price point of 3.30 includes taxes, and shipping and the true cost per unit is 2.88.
In contrast LA mayor Eric Garcetti purchased masks from Honeywell at 79 cents a piece yet most of that inventory wont make its way to LA by summer and fall. The reality is Governor Newsom could’ve saved the taxpayers a few bucks during this pandemic and ultimately could’ve contracted work domestically here in the states.
If you’re in the market for PPE in Los Angeles reach out to us at Terratori today.
