Sharp considering 3,000 job cuts

Sharp is considering cutting 3,000 jobs, or 15 percent of its workforce, through early retirements and natural reductions to turn its ailing business around.

As of end-May, Sharp has a workforce of about 21,000 on a parent-only basis, and the management is expected to start talks soon with its labor union on the planned job cuts, and soliciting early retirements at various places including its head office, factories and sales divisions, sources told The Japan Times on Thursday.

To alleviate the impact on the Japanese company's financial standing, it plans to take a certain period of time, about two years, to implement the plans, in addition to the natural reductions, the sources noted. They are also considering slashing jobs overseas, they added.

Sharp is expected to report a net loss of about 100 billion yen (US$1.28 billion) for the April to June quarter due to its deteriorating liquid-crystal display (LCD) panel business, other sources told the Japanese news site on Tuesday. It is scheduled to announce its earnings for the first three months of its current fiscal year on Aug. 2.

Several other electronic companies are reportedly mulling job cuts. In Japan, Panasonic was reportedly considering shedding 3,000 to 4,000 employees from its headquarters to streamline its business and stem losses, while Sony is said to be planning to cut 6 percent of its global workforce as part of a massive restructuring to bring it back to profitability.

Elsewhere in June, handset maker Nokia also announced in June that it would lay off 10,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2013, while BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) is reportedly cutting jobs in 'batches' to save US$1 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.