Crytek has not paid wages, employees are leaving

Re:Crytek has not paid wages, employees are leaving by gtirloni on Sunday December 11, 2016 @06:28AM (#13150601)

What bothers me the most is that, in my limited view, these companies can do shady stuff like that, close down and it's end of story. What's in place to punish the owners so they have less incentive to try this again?

This extends to startups that sign support contracts for their products X years in the future and go belly up, leaving customers with dead weight equipment. A colleague, frustrated at such an event, said he would seek legal reparations to which he heard back "who are you going to sue? The company doesn't exist anymore" and that was it.

What's in place to go after irresponsible individuals in those situations?

EDIT: I understand there are risks in every business negotiation. Would this be an example of customer naivety (in not performing due diligence before acquiring products/service from companies if they expect long-term support?) Is the customer to blame for not knowing how to properly play this game?

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Re:Crytek has not paid wages, employees are leaving by einrealist on Sunday December 11, 2016 @06:33AM (#13150621)

No, they cannot do that. Delaying filing for insolvency is a crime in Germany. Unable to pay wages is reason enough to file for insolvency. German courts don't take that lightly.

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Re:Crytek has not paid wages, employees are leaving by gtirloni on Sunday December 11, 2016 @06:34AM (#13150628)

So the owners can go to jail or get their personal property confiscated for this in Germany? That's reassuring.

The situation I described happened with a US startup. I'd be curious what we should have done in that situation.

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Re:Crytek has not paid wages, employees are leaving by einrealist on Sunday December 11, 2016 @06:53AM (#13150685)

They can go to jail, yes. But confiscation of property depends on the company type. Crytek is a "GmbH", which means that the property of the owners is usually safe, unless they unlawfully took assets out of the company.

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Re:Crytek has not paid wages, employees are leaving by cf21 on Sunday December 11, 2016 @08:48AM (#13151045)

If you delay in filing for insolvency you become liable with your private assets in Germany (certainly true for GmbH).

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Re:Crytek has not paid wages, employees are leaving by spangry on Sunday December 11, 2016 @10:13AM (#13151361)

Same for Australian corporations (directors become liable for knowingly trading while insolvent). Normally they're treated as completely separate legal entities, but not in this specific case. I'm sure there are instances of this in US law too: I'd always thought the term 'piercing the corporate veil' originated from the US...

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Re:Crytek has not paid wages, employees are leaving by lithos on Sunday December 11, 2016 @07:31AM (#13150799)

I can't imagine a silicon valley startup that doesn't blur the lines of miss using assets. Though good luck getting a hold of their books.

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Re:Crytek has not paid wages, employees are leaving by crdoconnor on Sunday December 11, 2016 @08:59AM (#13151085)

This is why unions were formed.

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