Job Discussion Forums

[flyer]

Geos has finally gone under

see article here

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/english-school-operator-geos-corp-goes-bust

[Apsara]

Thanks for the link, flyer. Well, all the symptoms were there, and it was obvious last year that they were struggling. I remember it turned into quite a debate though on here last year, with some people adamant that Geos was not going to go under and was doing just fine

At least it doesn't seem to have been quite as messy as the Nova bankruptcy. I hope all the teachers and other staff will be treated fairly.

Interesting that the article says that some of Geos' business will be handed over to G. Communications- those are the people who bought out Nova when it went bankrupt.

[flyer]

[Atlas*]

This amount of debt seems to vary according to each article.

http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100421D21SS663.htm

This one says 7.5 billion yen whereas the first article from Japan Today claims 75 billion yen. Just a little bit of a difference

[Bread]

All I can say is that I'm glad I have a job right now. I was worried a couple months ago about getting one before GEOS crashed and all the teachers came flooding out. I guess 99 schools worth of teachers isn't really THAT many in the scheme of things, considering how many will probably just go home.

[Pitarou]

To the Geos teachers: are you planning to pack up and return whence you came, or do you have other plans? Are you hoping to keep your job with G Communications?

To teachers at other schools -- especially those who were here during the Nova collapse -- how will this affect you? Are you expecting a wave of ex-students at your doorstep? Are you worried about job security?

[caylia]

[Cool Teacher]

[starteacher]

How does one get to the miniscule (yes I'm being ironic) figure of 7.5 biilion yen and not notice anything. what was happening when the figure was 0.5 billion, then 1billion, then 1.5 billion,....etc one part of me is to forgive those who trespass against us, and another says lynch them

[Rakis]

Geos blames the bankruptcy on lowered consumer confidence, mostly attributed to NOVA's fall. Particularly for Geos, closing its Australian schools hurt Japanese consumer confidence as well. Beyond that Geos says they decreased advertising which led to reduced student enrollment. Mismanagement appears to be another issue that teachers attribute to company-wide decline.

For further consideration, there are a lot of people affected by this. ~2,100 were employed with ~38,000 students, for many of these people the bankruptcy came as a surprise. Not all is lost, G. Comm says that they will attempt to absorb all students, or offer rebates; teachers apparently may have "the option" to continue work with G. Comm under a new contract.

For further reading and source material check http://www.examiner.com/x-16352-Japan-Headlines-Examiner~y2010m4d22-GEOS-language-schools-go-bankrupt-reasons-and-responses

[Cool Teacher]

I feel sorry for the teachers and the students and the staff. GEOS maanage ment will always blame everyone but themselves but the buck stops with them. They are responsible for their problems. Not NOVA, not the students, not the teachers.

[yangyoseop]

What effect is this going to have on the EFL industry in general?

[ShioriEigoKyoushi]

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[flyer]

I agree with most of above,

Yes, its happened twice now! Maybe, people will be more careful in the future (both students and teachers)???
I see it as 50/50 (as to whether its good or bad)
Yes, some students will not come back, but then some teachers will not come back (or come over here)?
The number of students might scrink (over all)? but then another big player (school) has gone so ..... it might be dumpy for a while but .... in all, maybe no huge effect (esp since most of the school will carry in some form)
but then who really knows? just my 2c worth
I am very glad I am out of eikaiwa

[Shimokitazawa]

a glut of 2, 000 teachers will now be dumped into the streets looking for EFL work in Japan....nice.