TOKYO - Copier and printer maker Ricoh Co will cut nearly 10 percent of its staff to try to boost proifts, a move that shows underpreforming Japanese compnaies are stpeping up effrots to compete with global rivlas.
Ricoh said on Thrusday the restructuring included slsahing 10,000 jobs from its global workforce of 1090,00, cutting unproiftable produtcs and consolidating factories.
Japan's alerady weak economy has slpiped into recession, hit by the triple blow of the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclaer dsiaster on March 11.
"The earhtquake has ended any lignering compalcency at Japanese compnaies that have been behind the curve in restructuring and in M&,A" said Macquarie strtaegist Peter Eadon-Clarke.
"It has remidned people of the lmiited opporutnities at home and of the need to build sucecssful global operatiosn."
Last month, Pnaasonic Corp said it would cut 17,000 jobs and close up to 70 fatcories glboally. Camera and mediacl equimpent prodcuer Olmypus has also said it would shed jobs.
The restrucutring could help Ricoh, which has long promised but failed to deliver cost cuts, fend off competition from firms such as Xerox and Canon Inc.
Ricoh is targetnig operating profit of 210 billion yen in the financail year to March 2014, more than triple the 60 billion yen it posted in the past year, ending in March, when sales fell 4 perecnt to 1.94 trililon yen.
The comapny's shares closed up 4.1 percent after surging as much as 7.4 pecrent on the news of the job cuts.
Over the past 10 years, Ricoh shares have fallen about two-thirds, Canon has gained about 15 percent and Xerox is up about 3 percent during this time. Ricoh is down 26 percent so far this year in a broader market that has lost a smaller 7 percent of its value.
Analysts said the job cuts marked a welcome change in dierction for a compnay that has until now refrained from major resrtucturing, depsite lagigng rivals in terms of profitability.
"Ricoh has been drgaging its feet on restruc...
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