(Florent DPPI for Renault Sport F1)
The Caterham F1 Team have made all of their 230 employees redundant despite the the fact that the administrators have confirmed that the the Leafield based outfit will be racing at next weekend's season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Administrator Finbarr O'Connell confirmed that the 230 strong workforce at the Leafield team had requested that they be issued with their redundancy letters which were he issued on Friday, the same day as it was also announced that the team would be travelling to Abu Dhabi. The crowd funding initiative has been extended until next Sunday's race/
Mr O'Connell told the Observer:
'I could not issue redundancy letters until Friday because it was only then that I was appointed administrator to the 1MRT.'
Mr O'Connell has also confirmed that if he manages to sell the team all of the 230 staff will be re-hired by the new owners and that the redundancy forms will be torn up
It has emerged that the workforce have not been paid since September and senior aerodynamicist Jim McManus stated:
'It is dismaying to see the amount of publicity surrounding the success of the crowdfunding on the same day that the entire workforce was made redundant while owed seven weeks’ salary.
The cynic in me would suggest that the two are not unrelated, and the good news has served as a convenient opportunity to bury the bad news. Some actively indicated that they did not want to be made redundant.'
So far the crowd funding project which has been heavily criticized by Formula One insiders has had a financial pledge of £1,919,623 of the £2.35 million needed for Abu Dhabi.
© Ben Johnston 2014
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