A former Qimonda employee has filed a class-action lawsuit in Delaware on behalf of more than 2,000 employees who were laid off.
The suit seeks $40 million in damages.
Lakita Blair, who worked at Qimonda's plant in eastern Henrico County, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Delaware against Infineon Technologies AG, Infineon Technologies North America Corp. and Qimonda AG.
The companies were joint employers of the plaintiffs, the suit alleged, and as a result would be liable for damages caused by the layoffs.
"People got paychecks that . . . bounced at the end," said attorney Charles A. Ercole with the Philadelphia law firm Klehr, Harrison, Harvey, Branzburg & Ellers LLP.
"Infineon should be liable for violating the law and failing to pay the employees their earned and well-deserved compensation and benefits," Ercole said. "We believe the claims could easily exceed $40 million."
Mitch Ahiers, a spokesman for Infineon Technologies North America, said: "Infineon does not comment on pending lawsuits."
Qimonda North America spokesman Glen Haley would not comment either, noting that Qimonda North America was not listed as a defendant in the case.
The suit raises claims on behalf of virtually all former Qimonda Richmond and Qimonda North America employees, including workers in North Carolina and California. It claims the companies violated the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act and that they owe severance, wages, bonuses and deferred compensation. The federal law says employers must provide 60 days' notice of layoff or 60 days' pay in lieu of notice.
Ercole said the suit was filed in Delaware last week because Infineon Technologies North America is incorporated in that state.
In February, chip-maker Qimonda North America announced that it was closing its manufacturing plant in eastern Henrico and that 1,350 employees would be laid off. About 60 people remain as of this week.
The $3 billion plant specialized in making 200-millimeter and 300-millimeter memory chips used in phones, computers and video games.
Qimonda North America and its Qimonda Richmond subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Feb. 20.
Qimonda's parent company, Qimonda AG, has filed in Germany for insolvency protection, which is similar to bankruptcy in the U.S. German company Infineon Technologies AG owns a 77.5 percent equity interest in Qimonda AG.
Contact Peter Bacqué at (804) 649-6813 or pbacque@timesdispatch.com.
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