R3･4･26 at Tokyo District Court

【Judgement】 invalid dismissal

【Company】 Stone X financial

【Category 】 adjustment dismissal

【Reference】 Rodo Hanrei Journal 114-28

【Position/Salary】 Sales Manager / JPY 7.65M

【Summary】

The defendant is experiencing operating losses, and the need for staff reductions is acknowledged.

While the defendant has reduced its workforce, the defendant terminated the plaintiff's employment on the grounds that their department was eliminated due to the discontinuation of the sales division; however, the fact that the defendant hired another person to handle sales duties one month after the plaintiff's termination, raises strong suspicions that the primary purpose of the termination was to replace the plaintiff with the newly hired individual. Considering that the termination could have been avoided by suspending bonus payments, it must be concluded that the defendant's efforts to avoid dismissal were notably insufficient.

The pronounced conflict between the plaintiff and the defendant regarding the plaintiff's claims for overtime pay may also have influenced the selection of the employees to be terminated, and this raises doubts about the reasonableness of the selection process for the terminated employees.