OSAKA, July 26 (Kyodo) — Sharp Corp. is considering chopping some 3,000 jobs, or 15 percent of its parent-basis workforce, to turn its deteriorating business around, sources close to the plan said Thursday.
The job cuts, to be carried out mainly in Japan, will center on early retirements and natural reductions, they said.
The Osaka-based consumer electronics maker is expected to report a group net loss of around 100 billion yen for the April-June quarter due to its deteriorating liquid crystal panel business, other sources said earlier.
The hefty loss is likely to have stemmed from its slumping liquid crystal display panel business as well as the payment of about $198 million, or about 15.5 billion yen, to settle a lawsuit in the United States filed by Dell Inc. and two other companies over alleged price-fixing involving LCD panels.
The company plans to announce its earnings for the first three months of the current fiscal year on Aug. 2.
After posting its biggest ever group net loss of 376 billion yen for the business year that ended in March, Sharp currently expects to post a group net loss of 30 billion yen for this fiscal year. But the company could lower its earnings forecast due to costs for restructuring.