AFP: Japanese Union Slams IBM Over Job Cut Ploys
A Japanese labor union Thursday accused U.S. computer giant International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) of coercing workers to quit as part of its efforts to slash about 2,500 jobs in Japan. IBM's Japanese subsidiary circulated a communique to its management in October, asking them to ax roughly 15% of the workforce, said Tetsuo Nomoto, a member of the Japan Metal and Information Machinery Workers Union. Managers initially encouraged employees to retire, but when that failed they began threatening same-day firings or cutting bonuses, said Nomoto, a manager who has worked for IBM for 37 years. Mid-ranked managers "told workers they would be fired in less than 48 hours, or would place very high goals and then tell them they didn't make the grade," he said. According to news reports, a supervisor even called one employee's wife and told her to push her husband to quit...The union estimates approximately 3,000 people were encouraged to retire, and as many as 400 were coerced, mostly in the past few weeks. Japan's labor laws prohibit a company from firing a regular employee without a viable explanation...more...
