A group of Viveo staffers have won a court victory over redundancies arising from the French vendor's acquisition by Temenos.
Having agreed to pay $81 million for Viveo at the end of 2009, Temenos went about a restructuring operation that saw 64 of the French firm's 180 staff (mainly computer engineers) in the country laid off and an end to marketing of its products.
The move provoked fury from employees who organised demonstrations and strikes as well as a legal challenge to challenge redundancies.
Viveo staff demonstrating on 31 March before the hearing
Backed by the CGT trade union, Viveo's staff argued that there was no economic rationale for lay offs and the company had a 27 year history of solid financial performance.
An expert was called in by staff representatives to audit the company's finances and found no financial justification for the Temenos actions, concluding the only reason for the acquisition was to eliminate a competitor holding back its plans in France.
Last autumn the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris rejected the workers' claims but they have now won their case at the court of appeal which accepted the expert testimony which was "not validly challenged elsewhere by management".
In a statement, the union says staff, encouraged by the victory are determined not to let the matter go and are ready to face any new "attack" from management.
Temenos has not responded to requests for comment.