Troubled electronics giant Sharp is about to undergo a dramatic shake up in an effort to return to profitability. Their contingency plan involves cutting 20 per cent of its global workforce and selling some of its major assets
Its 57,170 strong work force will fall by 10,996 by March of 2014, with the remaining workforce enduring a 50% reduction on bonuses and wages being trimmed.
In addition to cutting staff numbers, Kyodo news reports Sharp will be selling its major assets. These include its stake in Toshiba and some of its international manufacturing factories, which will generate a needed $2.22 billion in cash.
A Sharp emergency committee will be headed by Sharp’s President, Takashi Okuda, and will convene on October 1st to implement the changes. The committee intends on seeing Sharp return to profitability by the business year commencing April 2013.
Sharp will be strengthening its LCD television business and will focus more on smartphone and tablet screens. They currently manufacture screens for Apple’s iPhone, but before the iPhone 5’s launch, the company experienced problems manufacturing its newly-designed screen. According to TechRadar, Sharp is one of the reasons why opening weekend sales for the iPhone 5 were weak for some.
The Manjini news service also claims Sharp will be consolidating its home appliances, office equipment and solar batteries into a single company as part of the transition.
