In a prepared statement released Wednesday morning, the company said it was forced to closed its Fremont plant because of global economic and solar industry market conditions.

Solyndra said it intended to file a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code while it evaluates options, including a sale of the business and licensing of its advanced CIGS technology and manufacturing expertise.

As a result of the suspension of operations approximately 1,100 full-time and temporary employees were to be laid off, effective immediately.

Despite strong growth in the first half of 2011, the company said, it could not achieve full-scale operations rapidly enough to compete with the resources of larger foreign manufacturers.

“Regulatory and policy uncertainties in recent months created significant near-term excess supply and price erosion,” said Solyndra’s president and CEO, Brian Harrison. “Raising incremental capital in this environment was not possible. This was an unexpected outcome and is most unfortunate.”

The Fremont-based operation was hailed as an economic success when Obama toured the plant in May 2010, especially given the then-recent shutdown of the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., or NUMMI, plant in the same city, resulting in thousands of jobs lost.

Fremont's economic development manager Christina Briggs said Wednesday that Solyndra's announcement is "very sad news for the city and for the region."

The city had worked alongside Solyndra in recent years and "had hoped to see that success continue," she said.

In the meantime, Briggs said workforce officials and agencies were trying to disseminate resources to the workers affected by Solyndra's layoffs.

"It's clear that manufacturing is still struggling in this economy, especially in the face of extreme global competition," Briggs said, adding that public servants working with solar companies are aware of the challenges of global competition and the abundance of supplies from other countries, such as those in Asia.

According to Briggs, the city of Fremont has several other successful solar companies still in operation and plans to continue to "practice a diversified marketing strategy."

Obama was among a string of state and federal officials who toured Solyndra after it was announced that the federal government would grant the solar manufacturer a $535 million loan guarantee using stimulus dollars.

The money represented the first loan guarantee available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and it was to finance construction of the first phase of the solar manufacturer's new plant.

About 3,000 construction jobs were expected to be created through the project, which was projected to produce about 1,000 permanent positions, either directly or indirectly.

At the time of his May 2010 visit, Obama hailed the project as "a testament to American ingenuity and dynamism."

In September 2009, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the finalization of the loan, which was provided through the U.S. Department of Energy.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA, toured the facility six months later in February 2010 to discuss green jobs.

Days before Obama's May 26, 2010, visit, PricewhaterhouseCoopers LLP expressed concern about Solyndra's financial viability after an audit filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in March indicated that the company was struggling to keep its books in the black.

The audit stated that Solyndra "has suffered recurring losses from operations, negative cash flows since inception and has a net stockholders deficit that, among other factors, raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern."

The audit had been filed as part of an amendment to Solyndra's application for an initial public offering.

According to the audit, Solyndra had lost $518.7 million in the three previous years and had an accumulated deficit of $557.7 million.

Solyndra's chief executive, Chris Gronet, had acknowledged the concerns at the time in an open letter to the company's customers, but he said that such doubts were not uncommon for start-up companies preparing for an IPO.

Two days ago, the company announced that Gronet, who founded the company in 2006, would transition to "the role of adviser and consultant," according to Solyndra's website.

The facility manufactured cylindrical solar photovaltic panels -- designed to catch both direct and reflected light -- primarily for commercial use on flat rooftops.

At the time of Obama's visit, the company said that 80 percent of its solar technology was exported to foreign customers in 2009 but that it hoped to attract more domestic business.

The company said that it "could not achieve full-scale operations rapidly enough to compete in the near term with the resources of larger foreign manufacturers," according to today's press release.

Solyndra also blamed a global cache of solar panels and price fluctuations "that in part resulted from uncertainty in governmental incentive programs in Europe and the decline in credit markets that finance solar systems" for its failure to launch.

CEO Brian Harrison said the decision "was an unexpected outcome and is most unfortunate."