A debt-laden aerospace company has been ordered to pay its ex-COO after he was dismissed via WhatsApp without notice or pay.
Barry: So, get this. A company called Aerodyne Aerospace, based in Wales, just made headlines for firing its COO, Ian Thomas, through WhatsApp. Can you believe that? They stopped paying him and then just sent a message saying they wouldn’t continue his contract. No warning, no nothing!
Apparently, this company was all about making small aircraft, like gyroplanes, which they claimed would be affordable and accessible. But things have taken a turn for the worse. A judge recently ordered them to pay Ian over £22,000 after he took them to court for not paying his wages and breaching his contract.
In the last year and a half, three former employees have won a total of nearly £78,000 from Aerodyne’s various companies, all run by the same guy, Rangaraja Iyengar. It seems like there’s a pattern here, right? Ian’s case was about unauthorized wage deductions, and he didn’t even get payslips. The judge said that was a separate issue, though.
Aerodyne Aircraft Development, which was based at St Athan Airport, went into liquidation recently after the taxman came knocking. They had debts of over £1.4 million but only a grand in assets. Talk about a financial mess!
Mr. Iyengar claims they’ve invested over £60 million into developing aircraft, but it looks like they’re in deep trouble. They were supposed to move into a new aerospace park but never did. The Welsh Government even featured them in a brochure for businesses, but it seems like they didn’t follow through.
In court, the judge found that Mr. Iyengar had dismissed Ian without notice. He sent a WhatsApp message saying they wouldn’t continue his contract. That’s just cold! Now, Aerodyne has to pay him for the wages they owe and for his notice period.
Mr. Iyengar has been involved in a bunch of companies, but many of them have been dissolved. It’s a bit of a red flag, don’t you think? Last year, another former employee won a tribunal claim against Aerodyne for unauthorized wage deductions, too. It seems like this company has a history of not treating its employees right.
Even though Aerodyne Aircraft Development is in liquidation, other companies under Mr. Iyengar are still active. But they haven’t filed any accounts in a while, which raises more questions. It’s a wild situation, and it looks like things are only going to get messier for them.