Japan's UACJ to cut workforce by 15% to shore up profits
30/09/2019 12:34
TOKYO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Japan's top aluminium rolling
company UACJ Corp 5741.T said on Monday that it will shut a
domestic plant and reduce its workforce by 15%, mainly overseas,
as part of efforts to shore up its sagging profits.
Slow management reaction to changes in the aluminium market,
rising costs and heavy capital investments have weighed on
earnings in recent years, UACJ President Miyuki Ishihara told a
news conference.
"We aim at a quick and V-shaped recovery in our earnings
through the restructuring of the profit structure and
management," he said.
Under the plan, it will close the Nikko Works in Tochigi,
north of Tokyo, and stop down-stream operations in the Fukaya
Works in Saitama, near Tokyo. They both process aluminium sheet
products used in automobiles.
UACJ will also cut its global workforce to 11,000 employees
by March 2022 from 13,000, a figure which includes 5,000
overseas staff.
Around 700 job cuts will come from the sale of its copper
tube business announced in June, while the rest will come from
unprofitable or non-core operations overseas, Ishihara said,
without giving details.
UACJ is looking to boost recurring profit by a total of 21
billion yen ($195 million) over the next three years to March
2023.
Blaming the negative impact on aluminium demand from the
U.S.-China trade row and a slowing Chinese economy, UACJ in
August more than halved its recurring profit forecast for the
year to March 2020 to 4 billion yen from its May forecast of 11
billion yen. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nXB129G3NJ
($1 = 107.9300 yen)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi, editing by Louise Heavens)
((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-6441-1798; Reuters
Messaging: yuka.obayashi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))