Osaka, Japan — Sanyo Electric reported here today that it will cut its global workforce by 15 percent, close factories and reduce debt in a three-year plan to return to profitability.
According to several published reports, the move comes after Sanyo posted a major loss in fiscal 2004 due to earthquake damage to a chip factory and sluggish sales of core products. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005, Sanyo Electric’s consumer group sales — which include CE, major appliances, A/V, and information and communications equipment — increased worldwide by $100 billion to $11.8 billion (Please see Sanyo Consumer Group Sales Flat.) Sales in North America for the fiscal year decreased to $3.1 billion from $3.2 billion a year earlier.
Sanyo said it will cut about 14,000 jobs, including 8,000 in Japan, according to a Reuters report on www.cnn.com. The company also reportedly said it will close or sell 20 percent of its factory floor space in Japan, cutting $70 billion in costs.
Sanyo’s new president, Toshimasa Iue, who took over last week, told a news conference held here today, “We will no longer conduct operations that don’t produce profits.” How the cutbacks will affect U.S. operations at Sanyo Fisher, based in Chatsworth, Calif., was not detailed as of yet. – Written from various published reports by Steve Smith
