NEC to lay off 20,000 staff worldwide.

[GoFlyKiteNow]

Tokyo: Struggling Japanese electronics giant NEC Corp said on Friday it was slashing 20,000 jobs worldwide to cope with the economic crisis.

About 40 per cent of the job cuts will be in Japan and the rest overseas, NEC president Kaoru Yano told a press conference.

"We are aiming for 20,000 or more," he said, adding that about half would be full-time regular workers.

The job cuts, which will be made by March 2010, were announced soon after the group said it expects a net loss of 290 billion yen (USD 3.2 billion)

in the current financial year to March due to slumping sales.

"It is regrettable that we have to announce such a big downgrade," Yano said. "We must cut waste."

NEC said net losses soared 13-fold in the nine months to December from a year earlier to 129.0 billion yen, up from 9.98 billion yen a year earlier.

Japan's high-tech giants have been badly affected by the global economic slowdown, which has pushed down demand for their products and sent the yen soaring, eroding export earnings.

 

[GoFlyKiteNow]

Hitachi to shed 7000 jobs

Tokyo: Japanese electronics maker Hitachi predicted it would post a massive net loss this fiscal year and said it will slash about 7,000 jobs as part of a global restructuring plan.

Battered by plunging demand, the company forecast on Friday a net loss of 700 billion yen (USD 7.7 billion) for the fiscal year through March 31, a stark reversal from the 15 billion yen profit it forecast in October.

Hitachi, which makes everything from home appliances and TVs to IT systems and medical equipment, also cut its operating profit projection, by 90 per cent to 40 billion yen.

The company blamed sharply falling sales in most of its main businesses including electronic devices, power and industrial systems, and consumer products.

"Economic stagnation is expected to persist for the foreseeable future, making revenue expansion unlikely," Hitachi said in a statement.

It added that it is "determined to implement far-reaching structural reforms" to survive the economic downturn.

The company said it aims to cut 200 billion yen in costs by March 2010 by scrapping unprofitable businesses and products, reviewing investments, closing plants and cutting workers.

It plans to cut about 4,000 workers worldwide from its automotive systems business and another 3,000 from its consumer business by the end of the next fiscal year.

 

[downgrader]

My friend in Eunos says Hitachi got factory in east side employing lots of Malaysian workers. If this really the case, retrench never mind, Malaysian balek kampung more space for Singaporeans

NEC also got Singapore factory but like never hear people talk about them