The chief executive of a travel technology start-up has told the Worker Relations Commission (WRC) that it will have to “lay off” its remaining staff if it cannot secure further funding from investors.
Asked about the company’s finances by a former employee who mentioned multiple transatlantic trips, the company’s boss replied, “We’re not going to Las Vegas.”
Software company TripAdmit Ltd was defending a claim under the Unfair Dismissal Act 1977 by Graziano D’Amato, a salesman who lost his job as senior account manager for the Italian and English-speaking markets at the company in May 2023.
The company’s CEO, John Maguire, told the court that the company started its business in 2019, just 11 months before the coronavirus pandemic, but was still unable to raise investment funding to continue operating. He said it was highly dependent on.
He said a combination of lack of funding and lack of investment led D’Amato to initially “reduce the number of employees from 14 to seven.”
“If we are unable to raise the remaining funds, we will have to lay off the remaining staff,” he said.
The chief executive told the court: “I have clearly explained that: [Mr D’Amato’s] At monthly sales meetings in February and March 2023, the complainants said they had failed to meet their goal of acquiring 10 new customers a month, claiming their “jobs were at risk.”
D’Amato made it clear when he joined the company in September 2021 that he would take on a “challenging role with aggressive goals,” the company said.
“Graziano only achieved 46 percent of his goals over this period, hitting his goal only once every 19 months. Only 9 percent of these customers generated revenue for TripAdmit, i.e. 1 in 10, which is far below the income we asked for,” Mr Maguire said.
“We are a loss-making company. We cannot continue to suffer losses forever,” he said.
“Due to the size of our company, TripAdmit does not have a human resources department,” Maguire said, adding that D’Amato was the first employee the company laid off and that the company “subsequently took advice.”
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“It was never our intention to cut corners or violate our standards. Granted, the reasons for dismissal in the dismissal notice could have been better phrased, but “In hindsight, we think it’s been a clear message that he needs to improve his performance,” Maguire said.
Mr D’Amato said the reasons given by his former line manager were different to the explanation provided by Mr Maguire to WRC.
“[The line manager] He did not mention sales results. Basically, customers using TripAdmit software weren’t making enough money. That’s the wording of the letter. This is the whole point. He told me that the customer was not making money. It wasn’t because I wasn’t up to the mark,” D’Amato said.
D’Amato said the termination letter read: “Unfortunately, your performance is not what we want, so we have to let you go.”
“He never said you were warned in any way. I consider myself a professional in every sense of the word and I can speak English fluently. So I would understand if we ever talked about it. I have never received any formal warning in any way.”
D’Amato then prepared a document and submitted it before Judge David James Murphy.
“What about this article that came out a few weeks ago about him going to London? You can’t go to the United States twice or go to an exhibition if you don’t have enough money,” he said. I did.
“I’m passionate about what I do and I would never lie in life…If you say to me, ‘You were warned,’ I should know, “That’s what I’m telling you. I don’t want to use other words, but it’s the truth,” he said.
“He just told me I missed the mark. Basically I’m stupid because I didn’t understand that I was being warned,” the complainant said. .
“Can I tell you, I didn’t say that,” interjected Mr. Maguire.
“No, I say it myself, but don’t worry,” Mr. D’Amato replied.
In response, Mr Maguire said: “When it comes to funding and traveling to London…we’re an international company and that’s part of doing business too, so we fly as cheaply as we can, stay as cheaply as we can. Otherwise we’re not doing business. cannot grow.
“It’s not like you just go to Las Vegas and stay in a five-star hotel and have a ball,” he added.
The complainant said he is still unemployed more than eight months after being fired. When he asked if he could provide evidence of job applications to prove his mitigation efforts, the complainant replied, “I have a folder full of applications.”
Mr Maguire said it was “really, really difficult” to find a salesperson of Mr D’Amato’s level in Ireland. “I wonder how difficult it is to actually find a sales job,” he says.
Adjudicator Mr Murphy asked Mr D’Amato to email evidence of his job search to the WRC by the end of this week, and said he would give Mr Maguire a written response by next Wednesday.
He said he would communicate his decision in writing to both parties at a later date.