Now Hitachi wields jobs axe

Japanese electronics manufacturer Hitachi said today it was trimming its global work force by 14,700 people, by April.

The cuts affect 10,200 workers in Japan, or about 4 per cent of the domestic work force, and 4,500 overseas workers, or 6 per cent of the employees abroad, Hitachi said. The company employs about 341,000 people worldwide.

Hitachi also revised its forecast for the fiscal year, saying it now predicts a loss of 140 billion yen (£857m) instead of its earlier forecast of 90 billion yen (£540 million) in profit.

Hitachi said its business was hurt by the weak demand for electronic devices such as semiconductors and displays.

Hitachi's announcement comes in the wake of similar news from other Japanese electronics makers.

NEC, Toshiba, and Fujitsu have all announced job cuts, citing the falling demand for electronics and other information technology products around the world.

Japan is locked in a decade-long recession. But the decline in electronics demand at home and elsewhere has dealt a heavy blow on Japanese companies.