In an effort to make the company more profitable, the Japanese television manufacturing firm Toshiba has decided to lay off 4000 employees. This restructuring will affect about six percent of its workforce in Japan.
In addition to the job cuts, the company will move its office from Tokyo to Kawasaki. The goal of the layoffs is to achieve a 10 percent profit margin by 2027 and improve stability.
After a decade of financial struggles, Toshiba was acquired by a group led by Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) in a $13 billion deal.
The job cuts did not come as a surprise. In April 2024, Toshiba had announced that it was considering a significant downsizing of its workforce in Japan, aiming to reduce about 5,000 positions. At that time, it was reported that the move would impact approximately seven percent of its domestic staff.
The focus of these job cuts will primarily be on back-office roles within the company’s headquarters, with plans to implement them through voluntary retirement schemes. This proposed reduction would be the largest since the fallout from the 2015 accounting scandal.
At the time, it was expected that this move would result in a loss of about 100 billion yen ($646 million), covering expenses such as special retirement packages and outplacement services. This restructuring is part of Toshiba’s attempt to streamline its operations by consolidating its energy, infrastructure, devices, and IT divisions into its main headquarters, aiming for greater efficiency and synergy.
