Hitachi to cut S'pore jobs

Hitachi to cut S'pore 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 (US$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.