just kidding they seem to be behaving like jerks…
You’re going to love this… Bowens, after a single year under the control of AURELIUS Group, is not only dissolving its business…
It hasn’t paid its employees!
And!
It has been apparently communicated to Bowen’s employees that they are expected to continue working without pay!
Which is kind of like spitting on every single modern labor law in the world… but hey whatever… gotta get yours right?
…
The employee claims that when the staff asked whether they would still be paid for their July work as scheduled on the 20th, they were surprised to hear that the answer was no. They were allegedly told that they needed to continue working because they were bound by contract.
…
Read the whole article here: https://petapixel.com/2017/08/03/ex-bowens-employees-furious-handling-liquidation/
Oh… well that’s not okay at all is it. That goes against the basic understanding of labor in the modern world.
Work is paid for.
It is not demanded, it is not required, it is a consensual agreement between two parties to exchange their labor and their resources.
What did Bowens have to say for itself once the story broke?
Nothing meaningful I’ll tell you that much right now.
BOWENS INTERNATIONAL LTD. DISCONTINUES OPERATIONSManufacturing operations in China also affected Colchester / UK, August 2017 – Bowens International Ltd., an English manufacturer of studio flash units, will discontinue its operations. This decision is the result of the far-reaching changes affecting its market,including new, considerably less expensive products by Chinese manufacturers, product innovations by competitors, and the changed buying behavior of professional photographers, who are now only willing to invest in new equipment if the investment guarantees additional income. As part of the decision to discontinue its operations Bowens consequently also decided to discontinue the manufacturing operations in China. Therefore the formal liquidation process for the manufacturing legal entity Bowens Studio Lighting Co Ltd. has been initiated and the employees have been informed about the decision. The liquidation process is handled according to all local laws and requirements and the employees will be informed in due course on next steps. The timing of the liquidation process is driven by necessary local formal filing procedures and will most probably happen in the course of the next couple of months. Bowens Management and shareholders appreciate the hard work and dedication of the employees in China since the start of the manufacturing back in 2010. Bowens International was acquired by AURELIUS Group in summer 2016.Contact for requests:Stefan Schreck, Marketing Manager Telephone: +49 (0) 40 423 160-122Mail: stefan.schreck@calumetphoto.deSource: https://www.scribd.com/document/355449620/PM-Bowens
L O L
What a lovely non response.
Do you know what seems to be happening here?
Bowens owners are attempting to maximize their finances as they shut down.
That means using their current inventory, selling inventory that can’t be used, and then selling all other property.
But… you need labor to do all of that stuff…
So what to do?!
“Delay” paying your employees to conserve cash!
Or at least… that’s what you tell other people… what you’re really doing is ignoring some of your responsibilities (wages) so you can prioritize things that are more important to you. Like paying off liabilities (debts to others) that might come back to bite your butt later. Or, if we’re not giving Bowens management the benefit of the doubt, I would suppose what’s more important to you than paying wages… is paying yourself…
The reality is we can, and Bowens most certainly will as the story develops, play word games all day long… and in the end none of it matters.
Bowens and its owners want all the money that they can get, employees want to get paid but haven’t been paid, and most certainly after the public outcry either Bowens management will make nice and pay the wages or they’ll pretend that they never had the option (the cash) to pay employees. I’m only speculating, but I’m sure you’ve already speculated the same thing.
It simply makes sense.
We’ll have to see though… this is only the beginning of Bowens liquidation and the story of employees getting screwed by Bowens was just released today. So check back at Peta Pixel and I’m sure I’m going to complain some more… so check back here too.
You can still purchase Bowens equipment on B&H, Amazon, and Adorama… and if you were hoping to load up on Bowens stuff before the products are sold out… maybe it’s time to reconsider that plan.
Update – 8/4/2017
Update on 8/4/17: Calumet and AURELIUS are strongly refuting the allegations made by former Bowens employees.
“The UK Bowens company has paid all due salaries for July,” the company tells PetaPixel. “The allegations been raised about this matter are simply wrong.
“The situation in China is currently under legal advice on the formal filing procedures for liquidation and Bowens UK regrets not to be able to make any payments into China until receiving legal clearance with respect to both liquidations processes.”
So the latest word from Calumet appears to be that former Bowens UK employees have now been paid what they were owed, and that the Chinese workers haven’t simply due to formal legal processes that are underway.
Source: https://petapixel.com/2017/08/03/ex-bowens-employees-furious-handling-liquidation/
It doesn’t exactly sound like they were wrong… Bowen’s Chinese employees haven’t been paid… and they apparently just paid their UK employees…
There is obviously some poor communication going on here and Bowens doesn’t seem to get people’s point… which is that their employees should have already been paid for the work they’ve done.
But hey, whatever.