Former directors at City Link deny failure to inform of hundreds of job losses in court
**Waiting on a comment from EY by 5.
**Link to Express & Star story: http://www.expressandstar.com/business/city-news/2015/11/05/city-link-bosses-failed-to-tell-ministers-of-redundancies/
Short hed: City Link denies criminal charge in trial
City Link's three former directors are denying that they failed to inform officials of hundreds of job losses in the first day of a two-day trial.
The collapsed parcel delivery company, which employed more than 2,700 people across the UK, called in administrator EY on Christmas Eve. Paul Ozin, counsel for the Department of Business, said on the first day of the trial that they were left "dead in the water" after City Link couldn't find a buyer after failing to secure a £25m funding boost, Express & Star reports.
The criminal charge is brought against defendants David Smith, Robert Peto and Thomas Wright.
Ozin told the court that Wright said during an interview that he thought that the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills were made aware of the changes.
Express & Star reported that Ozin said that Wright "…said specifically that he did not believe redundancies were inevitable on the 22nd of December."
The company issued a statement before the trial that said: "The elephant not in the room is Jon Moulton, founding director of Better Capital – the company which withdrew the funding on which City Link relied. Jon Moulton was not a director of City Link and so was not under a duty to consult with employees. However, what role he had, if any, in the decision not to consult remains a mystery – which hopefully the three City Link directors being prosecuted can clarify."
EY did not return an immediate request for comment. The trail will continue tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Coventry Magistrates Court.