Not surprising that this happened.
In 2011 the Obama admin had agents raid their factory a second time over ebony from Madagascar that is used for the fret boards.
Gibson's chief executive was a major Republican Party contributor...and Obama's people went after Gibson while not bothering other guitar makers using the same exact woods (which have always been used by the way)
I remember it was all in the news at the time. What a mess.
https://www.investors.com/politics/e...-intimidation/
That alone cost them a fortune in lost materials, legal fees, and a $300,000 fine that Eric Holder and the Justice Dept. nailed them with.
Totally disgraceful how the Justice Dept. became weaponized for political reasons.
Anyway, I've owned a lot of Gibson Les Pauls over the years. Still have the first one I owned which I bought brand new in 1978. And my current main guitar I'm using at gigs is a 2017 Les Paul Standard High Performance model.
I hope that after they restructure through bankruptcy proceedings that they are able to be profitable once more.
Great American company and great artists and luthiers at Gibson.