Top staff walk out at global Scottish company

Senior employees at the Hong Kong office jumped ship to a rival company after executives from head office were parachuted in to take control of the division, amid a ferocious battle over unpaid wages and alleged financial mismanagement.

A further 33 employees there have also defected to rival firm Aedas, which has its head office in Hong Kong and is ranked above RMJM as one of the world's largest architecture practices.

It has also emerged a number of workers at the company's UK offices - including the Edinburgh headquarters - did not receive their wages on time for the second consecutive month.

The news came amid unconfirmed reports that staff in RMJM's London office are considering taking strike action early next week.

The staff losses are a fresh blow to the reputation of another of Scotland's best-known companies, following the takeover of HBOS and the near-collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland at the height of the banking crisis.

Most of RMJM's senior Hong Kong workers - including managing principal Bertil de Kleynen - quit after their office was taken over by a team headed by chief executive Peter Morrison.

A source close to RMJM - which, until recently employed former RBS chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin as a consultant - described the loss of the management team as "very sad".

"The best architects have left the practice. It is a big problem for the company," he said.

Mr Morrison stepped in to take control of the Hong Kong office last week after principal architect Catherine Siu - who is among those believed to have handed in their resignations - revealed she had lodged an official complaint with the Hong Kong labour department over unpaid salaries in an e-mail tirade addressed to Mr Morrison and copied to all 180 RMJM staff in Hong Kong.

She accused the company of leaving the Hong Kong operation unable to make payments to workers and local creditors.

If found guilty of the offence under Hong Kong law, Mr Morrison could be subject to a hefty fine and three years in prison.

The chief executive, who runs the firm with his father, Sir Fraser Morrison, yesterday revealed plans to bolster the Hong Kong division with new appointments and expand in mainland China, where it was responsible for a number of buildings used in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

He claimed it was "not entirely unexpected" that certain members of the previous management team would leave after last week's furore.

But rival Aedas, which has 750 staff in Hong Kong, told The Scotsman it had poached 33 staff from RMJM - the majority from the company's lucrative China team, led by William Wong.

"We did not go looking for them, they came knocking on our door, but we were delighted to have them," said Aedas's Asia chief executive David Roberts.

"The China team has been most successful. However, as a professional, it is very sad to see a great name and a great company come to what RMJM has now come to. It is better to have competition in the market."

He added: "One of the main issues that staff who have come to us from RMJM have raised was the problem of getting their wages in a timely manner."

Aedas, which has offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow and is behind Edinburgh council's Haymarket tram/train interchange scheme, is listed as second in the world by Building Design magazine in its annual top 100 architecture firms. RMJM is eighth.

Speaking from Hong Kong yesterday, Mr Morrison said: "It had become clear that the previous senior management within the Hong Kong office required to be significantly strengthened.

"That's why, last week, we announced that a number of senior executives from across the business would be basing themselves in the Hong Kong office. Following that, it wasn't entirely unexpected that a number of the previous management have announced their departures."

He went on: "In addition to the group-level executives we've put in place, we are also in active discussions with senior figures from the architectural sector in Hong Kong and expect to be in a position shortly to announce a number of new recruits at management level.

"It is our firm intention to significantly increase our capabilities in mainland China, building upon the long-term presence we have had in Shanghai for many years and the work we have won from many clients."

The recent resignations follow the loss of 80 workers who are understood to have left the Hong Kong office over the past year amid claims of unpaid wages.

In addition, Ed Jimenez, a senior architect at RMJM's New York office, quit after sending a 900-word e-mail to Mr Morrison, it was reported last week.

The company's US operations have been dramatically scaled down in recent months, despite the firm's high profile acquisition of Princeton-based Hillier Architecture three years ago.

Staff at the division, led by Bob Hillier, who founded the company, are taking out a civil case against the firm over claims it is failing to pay bonuses agreed as part of the takeover.

In November, RMJM admitted it had experienced "cash flow issues", blaming late payments from creditors. Numerous staff at the company's global offices have since reported their salaries have not been paid on time.

Mr Morrison yesterday apologised for failing to pay wages but insisted the firm was in a good position for future business. "In particular it was a matter of deep regret that we have been forced, on occasion, to delay the payment of some salaries to our staff," he said. "We are extremely grateful for their patience and understanding."He added: "We have weathered unprecedented global economic challenges over the past two and a half years with the vast bulk of our architectural talent intact."

A RMJM spokesman said the UK staff who had not been paid were mainly senior management and would receive their wages in the next "few days". He added that all wages in Hong Kong had been paid up to date.

• We have been asked to point out that Viraj Chatterjee is not among the staff to have resigned from RMJM in Hon Kong and he remains with the company. We apologise for the error and are happy to set the record straight.