Nikon, a maker of cameras, lenses and scanners, will eliminate 1,000 jobs by consolidating four precision-equipment subsidiaries into two and reducing sales and support operations globally.
The Tokyo-based company will take a charge of more than 4 billion yen ($42 million) for the reorganization of its units making equipment to produce semiconductors and liquid-crystal- displays, to be completed by October 1st, it said in a statement to the Tokyo exchange today.
Worldwide spending on semiconductor manufacturing equipment will probably fall a record 45 per cent this year because of the deteriorating global economy, researcher Gartner said in March.
Nikon on May 13 forecast a loss of 17 billion yen for the year to March 2010. The restructuring will enable Nikon to cut annual expenses by 8 billion yen from the year starting April 2011, Tsunesaburo Uemura, a spokesman for the company, said by telephone.
The job cuts include temporary workers, he said without providing a breakdown. Nikon had 23,759 employees as of March 31st, 2009, according to the company’s web site.
The shares dropped 1.1 per cent to close at 1,349 yen in Tokyo trading before the announcement, trimming their gain for the year to 28 per cent.
That compares with a 5.1 per cent advance by the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average.
Bloomberg