August 24, 2013
A union for electronics industry workers is fighting against major semiconductor maker Renesas Electronics Corporation’s downsizing measures, such as repeated forcible private interviews and unfair downgrading of workers’ job positions.
As corporate revitalizing measures, Renesas plans to cut more than 3,500 jobs and close its factories in the prefectures of Kanagawa, Yamanashi, and Yamagata.
According to the Denki-Joho Union, which organizes individual workers in the electronics and information sectors, the maker at the end of June stripped 1,298 section chiefs of their positions and has repeated private interviews with them to force them to accept early retirement offers. The union pointed out that it is obvious that these workers are the target for the company’s downsizing plan.
A male employee who had to endure personal interviews eight times in one month angrily said, “What the company did is unreasonable and is unforgivable.”
In July, Renesas announced to all employees that it will accept applications for voluntary early retirement by August 7, while threatening targeted workers with e-mail messages saying that if they refuse to accept early retirement, they will be dismissed compulsorily.
Renesas in the e-mail stated that if the number of applications for early retirement falls short from the company set goal, the company will notify an in-house union that it begins procedures for compulsory dismissals. It also mentioned that if the targeted workers are made redundant, they will be excluded from the lump-sum payment of special retirement allowance and also from their job replacement service.
The Denki-Joho Union has made representations to the Tokyo Labor Bureau to instruct Renesas to stop pushing workers to accept early retirement.
As corporate revitalizing measures, Renesas plans to cut more than 3,500 jobs and close its factories in the prefectures of Kanagawa, Yamanashi, and Yamagata.
According to the Denki-Joho Union, which organizes individual workers in the electronics and information sectors, the maker at the end of June stripped 1,298 section chiefs of their positions and has repeated private interviews with them to force them to accept early retirement offers. The union pointed out that it is obvious that these workers are the target for the company’s downsizing plan.
A male employee who had to endure personal interviews eight times in one month angrily said, “What the company did is unreasonable and is unforgivable.”
In July, Renesas announced to all employees that it will accept applications for voluntary early retirement by August 7, while threatening targeted workers with e-mail messages saying that if they refuse to accept early retirement, they will be dismissed compulsorily.
Renesas in the e-mail stated that if the number of applications for early retirement falls short from the company set goal, the company will notify an in-house union that it begins procedures for compulsory dismissals. It also mentioned that if the targeted workers are made redundant, they will be excluded from the lump-sum payment of special retirement allowance and also from their job replacement service.
The Denki-Joho Union has made representations to the Tokyo Labor Bureau to instruct Renesas to stop pushing workers to accept early retirement.
