Dismissed for having “light-colored hair”… Former Big Motor employees angrily confess: “We will never forgive the former president and his son!

Finally, sanctions were imposed in response to the string of frauds.

On August 14, it was learned that a group of banks, including three megabanks, had rejected Big Motor’s request to refinance ¥9 billion in loans. Economic analyst Keisuke Nakahara explains the impact of this decision.

He says, “Given the current situation, where customer churn has not been halted, the banking syndicate must have decided that the risk of the loan was too great. It is extremely likely that they will not do the same for future loans, meaning a de facto suspension of transactions. Other banks are expected to follow the megabanks’ decision. The possibility of business failure has finally become a reality.

Big Motor’s used car sales plunged to 672 units in the first week of August, and sales for the entire month of August are expected to be around 2,500 units, a mere shadow of the 10,000 to 15,000 units it used to sell in a month. A current executive said, “The company is desperate to secure funds.

Of the approximately 50,000 units in the company’s inventory, 12,000 are scheduled to be sold to competitors. We may be undercut and outbid, but we have no choice. We are also moving forward with plans for restructuring and downsizing the number of stores.

In the midst of all this, a new development has emerged.

On August 11, it was revealed that the Mito District Court had ruled that Big Motor had been “wrongfully dismissed. The Mito District Court accepted the claim of a vehicle mechanic in his 30s who had filed a claim for wrongful dismissal, and ordered the company to compensate him with 4.5 million yen.

The ruling has increased the likelihood that former employees who were forced to resign for unreasonable reasons in the past will rise up en masse. Mr. A, who worked in the sales department of a store in Nagano Prefecture until June of this year, does not hide his indignation.

The store manager has always disliked me for expressing my opinions to him. Then there was a problem with the factory manager destroying a customer’s new tires. When I gave my opinion to the factory manager, the next day I was suddenly summoned by the manager and told that I was being transferred from the head office.

When I refused, the manager told me, “Whether you transfer or quit, that’s fine as long as we can cut overstaffed sales positions. I’ll go through the procedures for your resignation” and “You don’t have to come here anymore because your paid vacation starts tomorrow,” and I was effectively dismissed. I have already consulted with the Labor Standards Inspection Office and plan to file a complaint against Big Motor for compensation.

A number of other former employees have been unfairly dismissed, including one who was fired on the day of an environmental maintenance inspection for having “light-colored hair,” and another who was forced to resign because he had lunch during an environmental maintenance inspection.

There are no layoffs at BIG.”

Behind the unjust dismissal, there was pressure from the headquarters. Mr. B, a former employee who worked at a store in the Kanto region, revealed, “In October of last year, I was asked by the manager of a frontline store if I could work at another store.

In October of last year, I was suddenly asked by the manager to transfer to a different store. I refused because I had a junior high school child, but at the end of the month I was contacted again by the supervisor and told that I could go to a different company starting tomorrow. He was always good to me, so I honestly asked him if I was being fired, and he denied it, saying, ‘No, you’re not fired. Finally, I broke down and said, ‘I’m quitting.

What in the world happened? Look at the LINE screen below. This is part of an exchange between Mr. B’s supervisor and headquarters. The head office asked for a reduction in personnel, but told his supervisor, “I’m going to resign so that it can be handled as a voluntary resignation,

“The head office is pressuring him to resign voluntarily.

to “handle it as a voluntary resignation. In addition, the company also said, “We are not obligated to pay termination notice,

The company also lists a number of selfish reasons, such as “to avoid having to pay termination notice allowances” and “if the number of terminations is too high, the company will be deprived of the right to participate in seminars for new graduate recruits.

The company lists the following selfish reasons.

The former employees are unanimously holding former president Hiroyuki Kaneshige (71) and his son Koichi (35), the former vice president, responsible for the unfair dismissals. It is said that at least 8,000 people resigned from the company in the last three years, and if even 10% of them file a lawsuit, the amount of compensation will amount to several billion yen.

However, the likelihood that the lawsuit will be rewarded is not necessarily high. As Mr. Nakahara noted above, “If Big Motor were to go bankrupt, it would be a very bad thing for the company.

If Big Motor goes bankrupt, there is a strong possibility that no compensation will be paid. The asset management company of which they are both directors is the largest shareholder of Big Motor, but since the claim is only against Big Motor, they are not responsible for paying it. Of course, morally speaking, Kaneshige and his son should be compensated even if they have to cut off their assets. However, under current Japanese law, they cannot pursue that responsibility.”

Is it right to ignore the cries of former employees who have sacrificed their lives for the company? As a former manager, I would like to demand that Kaneshige and his son take the right action.

From the September 1, 2023 issue of FRIDAY