Japan Press Weekly

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2015 December 9 - 15 [LABOR]

IBM’s forcible retirement practice recognized as cause of its worker’s mental disorders

The All-Japan Metal and Information Machinery Workers’ Union (JMIU) on December 9 held a press conference in the Labor Ministry office building and announced that a male IBM Japan worker in his 50s won official recognition that he developed depression because he was pressured to accept an early retirement offer during repeated personal interviews.

The worker in February underwent private interviews five times and every time he was pressured by his boss to apply for the company’s early retirement program. He recorded his boss saying that if he refuses the early retirement he will be dismissed, and turned to the union for help. Although JMIU requested the company to stop targeting the worker in its restructuring policy, IBM Japan in March again called the worker for an interview. He became mentally distressed with excessive stress and anxiety following the interview and had to take a leave of absence from his job.

IBM Japan is cutting jobs by holding repeated early retirement interviews with targeted workers and using the so-called “lock-out dismissal” tactic under which targeted workers receive a dismissal notice just before closing time on that day of work and then are locked out of their workplaces.

Past related articles:
> Labor authorities urge IBM to halt ‘lockout’ dismissals [April 13, 2014]
> IBM conducts forcible ‘lockout’ dismissals [October 13, 2012]