Hitachi to cut 550 jobs

Hitachi to cut 550 jobs

TOKYO (Reuters): Japan's biggest electronics maker, Hitachi Ltd, said on Friday it would cut 550 jobs at a Singapore unit and move the business to either China or Indonesia in a revamp of its Asian color television operations.

Hitachi, which like other Japanese electronics conglomerates is struggling to cut costs in the face of tough price competition, will also transfer vacuum cleaner production at the Singapore unit to a factory in Thailand, a spokesman said.

Hitachi estimated the cost to dismiss 550 workers at S$27 million ($14.8 million) but said the figure had already been factored into its earnings forecasts.

It will transfer production of color televisions at the unit to Hitachi's factories in China and Indonesia by September 2001, seeking lower labor cost there, a Hitachi spokesman said.

The company also decided to transfer color television product management and research and development capabilities from HCPS in Singapore to its Asian controlling unit Hitachi Asia Ltd in Singapore, it said.

Hitachi has not yet decided future plans for the HCPS Singapore unit or whether to produce other products there in the future, the spokesman said.