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Sharp job cuts

March 19, 2015

Media reports have hinted Japanese consumer electronics company Sharp is planning further substantial job cuts both at home and abroad. The news came as the firm expected more losses in the fiscal year ending March.

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Sharp logo EPA/DAI KUROKAWA +++(c) dpa -
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Struggling Japanese electronics giant Sharp was planning to shed another 6,000 jobs, the country's "Nikkei" newspaper reported in citing insiders speaking on terms of anonymity.

The reports said the company would lay off about 3,000 people in Japan itself, while another 3,000 jobs would be cut at facilities abroad, particularly in the US.

Getting rid of some 12.5 percent of its current workforce by March 2016 would initially cost Sharp some 1.5 billion euros ($1.61 billion), including additional restructuring charges, the Kyodo news agency reported.

Official confirmation pending

Sharp's management had said it was weighing several options to make the company more profitable and competitive again, adding that a final decision had not yet been taken.

Reports about layoffs came as Sharp was expected to post a net loss of 200 billion yen ($1.65 billion, 1.48 billion euros) for the current financial year ending March 31. It would be the third annual loss in four years on the back of fierce price competition with Chinese and South Korea rivals.

Back in 2012, Sharp already let 2,900 workers go on early retirement under a program that foresaw additional payments for leaving the company voluntarily.

hg/ng (dpa, Reuters)