Beleaguered Sharp will be shedding 10% of its workforce, and inject 200 billion Japanese Yen (US $1.66 billion) in a global restructure plan, reported Reuters and several other Japanese media including Nikkei.
The job cuts will include 3,000 positions in Japan through early retirement, and 3,000 overseas, a Reuters report cited a source familiar with the plan, who wished to remain anonymous. As of 2014, the company had a global staff of 50,000 employees.
Sharp also projected a third annual net loss in four years, due to weak sales of smartphone screens in China, which was aggravated by rival Japan Display’s unexpectedly strong performance. In February, the company forecasted a net loss of 30 billion yen for the fiscal year ending in March, a strong contrast from its anticipated 30 billion yen net profit.
The company’s Chief Executive Kozo Takahashi has been negotiating with the firm’s main lenders Mizuho Bank and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ for a second bailout since 2012, said people familiar with the matter.
The ailing company has exited the European TV market and closed solar-panel businesses in Europe and the U.S.
Sharp Chief Executive Kozo Takahashi has been in negotiations with the firm's main lenders, Mizuho Financial Group Inc's Mizuho Bank and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, part of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, for the company's second major bailout since 2012, people familiar with the matter have said.
Responding to market rumors, the company which will be announcing a restructuring plan in a meditum0trem business strategy in May, said it was considering different restructure options but had not arrived to any decisions yet.
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