Fujitsu to push 3,000 workers out

Fujitsu has set out to compel all employees of its Nagano Plant, and 83 percent of employees at the Suzaka Plant to leave the company.

There are only two factories that Fujitsu Limited (as of March, approx. 40,000 employees, 324 billion yen in capital = approx. 2.7 billion dollars) has in Nagano Prefecture, with a total staff of 2,000 in the Nagano plant, and 1,200 in the Suzaka plant.

Akahata of July 30 reported that employees are now pressed to choose between "leaving" or "being transferred," and they have to submit their final decision by August 9.

Most employees are refusing to move to other associated undertakings or a new entity because the type of employment there will be insecure, such as contract or temporary workers with much lower wages.

Other Fujitsu subsidiaries and related companies will follow accordingly their parent Fujitsu's personnel reduction.

The Japanese Communist Party Nagano Prefectural Committee on July 29 launched a task force to address the Fujitsu restructuring. The task force urgently made handbills and distributed them at gates of the Nagano and Suzaka plants.

The handbill instructs that any retirement, employment transfer, or change of contract without an employee's consent is illegal, and advises workers to take their families and lives into account before signing a resignation form.

A Fujitsu subsidiary in the prefecture will cut by half its number of employees. An affiliate has given an announcement of dismissal to more than one third of its workforce without giving any explanation. In that affiliate, 10 workers have founded a new union to call for a retraction of their dismissals.

The JCP prefectural committee, the Fujitsu task force, and the JCP Suzaka City Assembly members' group requested the local government to take emergency responses. Vice Governor Abe Shuichi promised to deal quickly and properly with Fujitsu's restructuring. (end)