There is continuing fall-out from the liquidation of Rubico - a business that was, until recently, considered one of SA`s high-flying IT companies - with staff angry at the way they have been treated.
One former staff member, who asked not to be named for fear of prejudicing himself in the present job market, said he had been with Rubico since the beginning, and at one point staff really thought the company was destined for great things.
"The problem was that we put all our eggs in one basket with the Deutsche Leasing contract and when they pulled out - citing the poor performance of the German economy and side issues like the war in Iraq - we were suddenly some R20 million in the red," he says.
"While I`m grateful for the skills I gained in my time there, there are far too many issues surrounding the liquidation that leave a sour taste in the mouth."
He says staff never received a salary for the month of May, having last been paid at the end of April, and that employees never received an official letter of retrenchment.
"We were only sent an e-mail from the managing director and one of the managers spoke briefly to us, but apart from that, nothing.
"Not only did we never receive official confirmation of our retrenchment, it seems as though Willie Esterhuyzen, our CEO, was unable to face us himself and now he appears to have dropped off the face of the earth, as no one can reach him."
He says that most of the staff who remained, prior to the liquidation, were employees with five or more years experience at the company, which is particularly why they feel so badly let down by this.
"It seems loyalty counts for nothing. Now a lot of the people are scared and don`t want to talk about it to the press. We`re pretty much all still looking for jobs, so no one wants to shoot themselves in the foot by saying the wrong thing.
"The worst part is that Esterhuyzen and his wife are still driving around in their Porsches, while the rest of us are without jobs - is it any wonder we`re pretty upset?"
Another senior staff member who spoke to IT Web under condition of anonymity and who worked for Rubico (Pty) Ltd, a services company that was liquidated in January - although the business continued as Rubico Holdings - says he and his fellow employees were abandoned by the company.
He says staff were called into a meeting in mid-January and told by management that the business was broke and that they wouldn`t be paid, so they may as well go home.
"The part that bothered me the most was that they did this to us and then continued trading as Rubico Holdings," he says.
"While I accepted the idea of retrenchment, because as a senior man there I could see it coming, due to the fact that we hadn`t been doing very well and the company had lost a lot of business, it was the way they did it that really bothered me, I found that to be totally unacceptable.
"Rubico agreed to pay a settlement to the people that were ditched - I am loathe to use the word retrenched, because we were not retrenched, we were abandoned - but after receiving the initial token amount, nothing else was forthcoming."
He says he has since registered as a creditor, following this latest liquidation, in the hopes of getting back at least some of the quite substantial amount of money owing to him.
"Retrenchment was a traumatic experience for all of us, and although I wasn`t quite as financially prejudiced as some, it was still a very tough experience for us. I really feel that the way they treated us was unethical and immoral."
Bruce MacRobert, a director at Brait, one of Rubico`s shareholders, confirmed that the liquidation process was under way.
"The shareholders had kept the business afloat for some time, but unfortunately with the loss of such a big contract as the Deutsche Leasing one, it was unfeasible to keep pouring money into what had become an unsustainable business," he says.
"I do understand that it has been traumatic for the staff who were retrenched and we are sympathetic towards them, but it has also been a big loss for us. We tried to revive Rubico several times, but it simply reached the end of the road."
He says the whole liquidation issue was a real pity and they are all very disappointed about it.
"In terms of the way staff were informed about the liquidation, I was under the impression that they were being kept informed and up-to-date on what was happening with the business," says MacRobert.
"Rubico had been pitching for a number of tenders over the six months leading up to liquidation, and they should have been aware of the necessity of winning the Deutsche Leasing contract.
"Once that tender was lost, the shareholders realised that the business model could no longer be sustained, which is why Rubico had to be put into liquidation."
Rubico`s CEO, Willie Esterhuyzen, could not be reached for comment.
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