back to article Stricken 2e2 sacks 627, winds down, retains a few data centre caretakers

Stricken UK integrator 2e2 - in administration and unable to find a buyer - effectively started to wind down operations today by confirming 627 people were being let go with just a small group of data centre staffers left to keep things "ticking over". Employees were told at 8.30am to get onto a conference call at scheduled …

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  1. This post has been deleted by its author

  2. Chris007
    WTF?

    Is this legal?

    "Perhaps softening the blow for those staff, they will be paid for work in January and so far in February, which is more than can be said of the 345 people cut from the business last week."

    Paying some staff but no others - is this legal?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Is this legal?

      Yep, anything goes while a company is in administration (like the high street shops refusing to accept gift cards etc.). Once everything has been finalised, the remaining staff will be able to attempt to claim missed pay and can effectively become creditors, but will unfortunately be way down the list, so might get little or even bugger all of what they're owed.

    2. Prometheangift

      Re: Is this legal?

      I doubt it is legal. Nor is dismissal without consultancy.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Is this legal?

      No, this is not legally sound practice. It doesn't mean that it can't happen though.

      I know people at 2e2 who have just been transferred there from the NHS and who have more than 10 years of continous service who have just been given the boot. I'd like to know who was responsible for the due dilligence at various NHS trusts and which strategic partners they used to ratify the viability of 2e2.

      Brutal but life's a bitch. Hope everybody can pick themselves up, dust themselves off and go on to bigger and better things.

  3. Eagle One
    Alert

    It's somewhat more than "a few data centre caretakers" as you put it. The people that remain are still 100% committed to providing the best level of service to customers, as were every single one of the people who have already gone. The ship may indeed be taking on water, but we're still running the pumps, the lights are still on and the engines are still giving their all. The "S.S. 2e2" may not sail again, but she won't leave those who depend on her high and dry.

    1. Magister
      Facepalm

      @Eagle One

      As you only registered this account today and have made only one post. I'm tempted to believe that you are someone hoping to "talk up" this rather poor situation. Have to say that it smacks a bit of a marketing droid type communication!

      >>The people that remain are still 100% committed to providing the best level of service to customers, <<

      I'm sure that they are really good people and only want to do the very best for the customer; but the fact is, their jobs are going one way only and every single one of them will be doing everything that they can to quickly find another position. This is only human nature. Pretending otherwise does no-one any favours.

      >>The "S.S. 2e2" may not sail again, but she won't leave those who depend on her high and dry.<<

      Until the plug is finally pulled - at which point, anyone that is reliant on them is well and truly up the creek. Hence any of those that are using 2e2 systems that take their responsibilties seriously will be making plans now to reduce any impact. If they aren't they are totaly derelict in their duty to their organisation.

      1. pig

        @Eagle One

        >>The "S.S. 2e2" may not sail again, but she won't leave those who depend on her high and dry.<<

        Really?

        Out of interest which part of the 2 people who we relied upon not being paid, being laid off, and us being told we are going to get f'all from 2e2 is not being left high and dry?

        We will be ok, but only because we promised to pay the staff ourselves if they rock up and complete their work from here.

      2. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Captain

      Your heart will go on

      Being left 'high and dry' would be a result. It's preferable to being dragged down into the abyss. I'm sure that the customers appreciate your rendition of Abide With Me, but it won't stop them scrambling for the lifeboats.

    3. alliej

      Good to see your so dedicated!

      It's good to know that you are 100% committed to this joke of a company - let's hope they don't shit on you as they did others!! My husband was 100% committed too until 28 January when he was shown the door without his salary. It's a shame 2e2 couldn't show the same loyalty to the ones redundant (I use that term loosely) as they were/are to them!!

      I still find it unbelievable that some staff could be paid and others couldn't, surely they all put the same amount of effort in and should be reimbursed accordingly?

  4. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Alert

    @Chris007

    By the time it goes to court it'll be too late, the company won't exist. They won't find a buyer, there's very little profit in buying a metric tonne worth of debt.

    What a good business plan that was.

  5. The Godfather
    FAIL

    Last one out the door ...break it

    Something is not right here.... a business of this size and operating margin should and could have found buyers, if not for the whole then certainly parts of it. Tangible assets were never going to be enough to meet the company's liability to banks and loan note holders. Unsecured creditors will get nothing.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Last one out the door ...break it

      Okay.

      So what's not right here?

    2. DavCrav

      Re: Last one out the door ...break it

      "Something is not right here.... a business of this size and operating margin should and could have found buyers, if not for the whole then certainly parts of it."

      Why? All it has are clients and reputation, and they all fled/were destroyed the minute it hit administration.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What am I missing

    Some parts of the 2e2 group are still in profit, so why is the group not being made to pay for all of this?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Pretty sick of all of these outsider commentators assuming things. Every piece of media I've read so far (barring the tea-bag count announcements on twitter) appear to have been posted by either:

    1 - Staff who had sadly been let go

    2 - Vultures trying to gain customers and/or recruitment bonuses

    3 - News sites (such as El Reg) sensationalising things

    There's no wonder people like Eagle One above has registered to put "our" side of the story across.

    My team continues to operate as normal, no change. Zip.

    We're doing 100% of what we did last month, as are all of the teams around us. We're supporting our customers and trying our absolute best to keep our deck of the ship free of water.

    Yes, we might find ourselves given the boot any time, even as we speak they could be planning the next conf call to fire the lot of us. But until then, we're here, and we're doing our jobs for our customers in unbelievably difficult circumstances.

    I've seen so many over-exaggerated stories over the last few days, but nobody from the company wants to say things in public - we're all keeping our heads down for fear of......... well, lots of things.

    Try not to have a go at those of us on "death row", eh? Be nice.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Well said @ AC 14:18

      I used to work for 2e2 up to about four years ago.

      The staff I worked with were hard working and dedicated.

      I'm sorry for the way you're being treated AND portrayed.

      Good luck

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      and making sure the customers are professionally looked after insures this *will* happen again.

    3. Eagle One
      Happy

      @ AC : Thanks AC :-)

      @Others : Yeah, I registered this account specifically to make the earlier post because I'm sick of people sticking the knife in to those of us on "death row"

      I'm no marketdroid, I'm not a PHB or even a BoFH, I'm just trying to do my bit to keep the deck I and my colleagues occupy as free from water as I can.

      I'm sorry if that doesn't fit in with other peoples views of how things are/should be.

      Good Night.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Just saw this on the front page of 2e2

    http://www.2e2.com/docs/jacqui/130206-redundancy-letter-to-all-staff-06-02-13---for-website-(3).pdf?sfvrsn=2

    :(

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Pssst... Wanna buy a company?

    "Is it successful?"

    "Just gone bust, actually."

    "I'll pass, thanks."

    Might explain why they couldn't sell it.

  10. gh4662

    Omg

    People are still saying "someone will come along and buy the Sussex Partnership contract as its worth £37m" when will people within the NHS realise that no one will buy a contract if there is no profit to be made from it. The public sector is hung up on turnover, not profit, profitability is an alien concept to the NHS.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    S.s. 2e2

    You say S.S. 2E2 won't leave customers high and dry? As soon as any available funds dry up and the company is liquidated the power companies will stop supplying power to the data centres and if they are rented sites you may find yourselves locked out, how will you support customers then. I am not being critical of 2e2 support staff just the higher management that have sailed the ship into the iceberg

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What goes around comes around

    I used to work for 2e2 in Reading and left - as did many good people the last time 2e2 had a good idea and told us our jobs were being out sourced to India.

    Unfortunately 2e2 forgot to mention this to the customers who said they would walk so we had to re-apply for our jobs as the 90 day consultation period had already started. A lot of good CCIE's/CCNP's/MCSE's and other technical staff just left with no jobs to go to. That was 3 years ago.

    In the meantime our Directors and Managers were replaced more times than I can remember and the remaining staff were not treated good.

    Most IT companies who know their stuff look after the staff as their biggest asset. Where I worked at least that was never the case - quite the reverse

    2e2 was a good company when engineers ran it, but is now(was) run by accountants. They do not care about their staff and this proves it.

    While you are all swimming about being asked to work for nothing they are already well away with the last of the life boats weeks ago.

    They don't give a toss about the troops, your problems or your families, its goodbye and see the administrator.

    There were never any passengers in the company and the way 2e2 have treated you all is beyond belief, although having worked there I would expect nothing less.

    I hope you all find employment quickly and good luck to you all.

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