Nearly 40 percent of the workers recently laid off by electronics manufacturer Inventec Corp might have been fired for reasons unrelated to “operational constraints,” which would be illegal, Taipei City Government officials said yesterday.
Of the 371 dismissed workers, 148 might have lost their jobs for reasons other than those stated by the company when it notified the city government of the layoff plan late last month, Department of Labor Commissioner Chen Yeh-shin (陳業鑫) said.
Inventec had said in a statement that “operational constraints,” including Hewlett-Packard’s cancelation of its tablet program and a slowdown in the notebook computer original design manufacturing (ODM) sector in the wake of slowing global demand were behind the layoffs.
However, the city found that 148 of the dismissed employees were working in divisions that were unrelated to HP’s tablet or notebook ODM. The labor department was to publicize its decision on whether to punish Inventec yesterday, but the company issued an emergency statement late on Monday, prompting the department to delay its decision.
The department yesterday gave Inventec two more weeks to explain its action.
Chen said dismissed employees could also submit evidence to the department if they believed they were wrongfully terminated.
Inventec may face a fine ranging from NT$10,000 to NT$50,000 according to Article 63 of the Settlement of Labor-Management Dispute Act (勞資爭議處理法) if it fails to prove the layoffs were lawful, Chen said.
It may also be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000 for providing false information to the department, he added.
Meanwhile, 18 of the dismissed employees have asked the department to mediate their cases. Three want to be reinstated and 15 hope to receive an early retirement package.
The department said the dispute mediation committee would meet within two weeks at the earliest.
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