Mitsubishi Motors to cut 9,500 jobs by FY 2003

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has announced that it will cut personnel by 9,500 (14 percent of its total workforce) by the end of March 2003.

The company published this on March 28 as part of the details of its cost-cutting plan ("Turnaround Plan") announced in late February.

Under the plan, Mitsubishi will slash 4,500 jobs at parent Mitsubishi Motors, and the remaining 5,000 at affiliates, including overseas units. It plans to reduce its group workforce by 2,400 between April 2001 and March 2002.

The restructuring and personnel cuts will be carried out through natural attrition, freezing recruitment of new school graduates, the introduction of an early retirement scheme, and outsourcing. The company's Oe plant in Nagoya City in central Japan will be closed by the end of September 2001.

The company said that already 210 employees in managerial positions have accepted management offers of earlier retirement.

To cut costs, the company plans to achieve a 15-percent cut (about 60 billion yen a year) in material purchases in the next three years.

The company says that suppliers' reactions are positive and they are cooperative. But, Akahata said, the plan will cause suppliers pay enormous costs. (end)