Nippon to cut 15% of global workforce

Nippon Sheet Glass has announced that it plans to cut approximately 5800 jobs, or 15% of its worldwide workforce, by March 2010 and reduce its production capacity by approximately 16%.

As demand for construction and automotive glass continues to diminish around the world, the company is preparing for a net loss of 21 billion yen for the financial year ending 31st March 2009, in comparison to a net profit of 50.4 billion yen one year earlier. This would be the company’s first net loss in six years.

The Nippon Sheet Glass group employs a total of approximately 40,000 temporary and full-time workers. It is reported that 3000 of these are to lose their jobs in March 2009, although details such as the proportion of full-time to temporary job cuts and affected regions are yet to be revealed.

The company plans to make the necessary output capacity reductions by suspending key production facilities. According to reports, it will shut down two out of 12 such furnaces in Germany, the UK and four other European countries. Furthermore, in six non-European countries including China and the USA, the company plans to suspend some of its furnaces as well as taking other measures in a bid to reduce its overall production capacity.