TOKYO: Japanese copier and printer maker Ricoh Co said it would cut nearly 10 percent of its workforce as it looks to boost its sagging profits and fend off competition from the likes of Xerox and Canon Inc .
Ricoh said in a statement on Thursday, May 26 it plans to reduce about 10,000 staff from a global workforce of 109,000, a move it expects will give a 140 billion yen ($1.7 billion) boost to its operating profit over the next three years.
Shares of Ricoh jumped 7.2 percent on the restructuring news, which was first reported by the Nikkei newspaper.
The firm said it was aiming for operating profit to reach 210 billion yen in the financial year to March 2014, more than triple the 60 billion yen it posted in the past year ended in March when its sales slumped 4 percent to 1.94 trillion yen.
"We have become a big company and need to re-engineer our corporate structure throughout to become more muscular," Ricoh President and CEO Shiro Kondo told a news conference.
"We have done very little pruning of unprofitable businesses, and we need to pull out of some."
Ricoh is the latest Japanese firm to announce restructuring steps in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Electronics giant Panasonic Corp said in April that it would cut another 17,000 jobs and close up to 70 factories around the world. [ID:nL3E7FS03A]
Ricoh said last month that it expects its operating profit to rise 16 percent to 70 billion yen in the business year that started in April, but profit levels are expected to be limited by a stronger yen and fierce competition. - Reuters
Ricoh said in a statement on Thursday, May 26 it plans to reduce about 10,000 staff from a global workforce of 109,000, a move it expects will give a 140 billion yen ($1.7 billion) boost to its operating profit over the next three years.
Shares of Ricoh jumped 7.2 percent on the restructuring news, which was first reported by the Nikkei newspaper.
The firm said it was aiming for operating profit to reach 210 billion yen in the financial year to March 2014, more than triple the 60 billion yen it posted in the past year ended in March when its sales slumped 4 percent to 1.94 trillion yen.
"We have become a big company and need to re-engineer our corporate structure throughout to become more muscular," Ricoh President and CEO Shiro Kondo told a news conference.
"We have done very little pruning of unprofitable businesses, and we need to pull out of some."
Ricoh is the latest Japanese firm to announce restructuring steps in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Electronics giant Panasonic Corp said in April that it would cut another 17,000 jobs and close up to 70 factories around the world. [ID:nL3E7FS03A]
Ricoh said last month that it expects its operating profit to rise 16 percent to 70 billion yen in the business year that started in April, but profit levels are expected to be limited by a stronger yen and fierce competition. - Reuters
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