Goodwill Group Inc. announced it would close an unprofitable day labor staffing unit on Wednesday, in an attempt to return the company to profitability, according to reports filed by Reuters and Daily Yomiuri Online.
The move follows a series of scandals at the company including the arrest of three Goodwill employees earlier this month for alleged violations of Japan’s employment security laws. The company’s website confirms the workers were later charged, and sources state that both the company and the employees paid fines totaling more than 1 million yen.
There were other media reports suggesting that the company may have its license to provide staffing services revoked by Japanese authorities, but those reports remain unconfirmed.
The Goodwill Group Inc. is the largest staffing provider in Japan and a majority owner of U.S. staffing company GW Premier America, which has annual revenues of more than $1 billion and operates under multiple brands in the United States and Canada including: Technical Aid Corporation, Talent Tree, Inc., Willstaff, Inc., and Advantage Human Resourcing Inc.
The Tokyo-based Goodwill Group’s shareholders voted on June 7 to approve a reorganization plan that includes the sale of 15.5 billion yen ($146 million) of preferred shares. Shareholders also approved a preferred stock sale to a fund set up by Morgan Stanley and Cerberus Partners LP; both firms are helping the company with its reorganization efforts.