An Australian technology company has gone bankrupt and all its staff have been fired on the spot via email.
Melbourne-based E-Mersion Media (Aust) Pty Ltd, which won major contracts with Formula 1 and world football body FIFA, has gone bankrupt.
Registrar Kim Woronzcak ordered the company wound up “on grounds of insolvency” in the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday.
It is understood that the company, which was involved in digitizing print magazines, owes another $13 million to creditors.
The parent company in Britain is still active, but the Commissioner of State Revenue began liquidation proceedings against E-Mersion Media (Aust) Pty Ltd in March.
John Iliopoulos (photo), the sole director of the parent company, said: ‘No one has more to lose in this than the parent company, the shareholders, which of course includes my family interest’
Staff were informed by email that they had been dismissed with immediate effect.
One woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she feared the company had been on the brink of collapse for some time.
‘It’s extremely stressful, you’re constantly waiting for the penny to drop. You always have a low level of anxiety,” she shared news.com.au.
Mathew Gollant, of restructuring firm CJG Advisory, the company’s appointed administrator, wrote a letter to the remaining employees last Friday.
“I note that you have been dismissed during the voluntary administration process, but in view of the above, I regret to inform you that your employment will be terminated with effect from May 3, 2024,” he said in a letter.
‘You may be aware that the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations has a scheme called Fair Entitlement Guarantee (‘FEG’) to pay employees who have become redundant as a result of the insolvency of their employer and do not receive payment of these entitlements. ‘
An Australian technology company has gone bankrupt and all its staff have been fired via email
E-Mersion Media (Aust) was ordered into liquidation by the Victorian Supreme Court
Last year, half of its then 16 employees, including some senior managers, left as the company faced legal disputes and criticism over some of its expense spending.
More to come.
