GT Advanced Technologies, which made headlines last year for inking a sapphire deal with Apple, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
GT, which has about $85 million of cash wants debtor-in-possession financing, which would allow it to stay afloat (and pay its employees).
"GT has a strong and fundamentally sound underlying business," Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer of GT, said in a statement. "Today's filing does not mean we are going out of business; rather, it provides us with the opportunity to continue to execute our business plan on a stronger footing, maintain operations of our diversified business, and improve our balance sheet."
Last year, Apple announced plans for a new facility in Arizona, with GT Advanced Technologies as a partner. Apple provided GT with a $578 million pre-payment, which GT must pay back over five years, starting in 2015.
Under the deal, GT is required to "provide sapphire material" to Apple. "GT will own and operate ASF [advanced sapphire furnaces] furnaces and related equipment to produce the material at an Apple facility in Arizona where GT expects to employ over 700 people," the company said last year.
Though there were rumors that Apple would use a sapphire display on its new iPhones, Cupertino stuck with Corning Gorilla Glass, likely because it can be expensive and labor-intensive to product sapphire displays. Apple does use sapphire for the surface of its Touch ID button, while its upcoming Apple Watch will be protected by sapphire crystal.
Still, GT's stock price took a nosedive in the wake of Apple's Sept. 9 iPhone event, when it was revealed that iPhone 6 and 6 Plus do not sport sapphire displays. GT said today that the bankruptcy means that NASDAQ may temporarily halt trading.
For more, check out How Apple Could Afford an iPhone With a Sapphire Display.