Japan Press Weekly

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2012 December 12 - 18 [LABOR]

Gov’t fund prompts downsizing in exchange for investment

A government-funded investment company intends to force a large semiconductor manufacturer to drastically cut back on its personnel.

The Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) announced on December 10 that it will provide Renesas Electronics Corporation with 150 billion yen jointly with other large manufacturing companies.

The INCJ said that Renesas will be required to reduce its workforce by 5,000 workers in exchange for the investment to improve the management. The maker already cut 7,500 jobs in September through encouraging its employees to retire earlier.

The INCJ plans to invest 138.3 billion yen in the company. It will then obtain about 70% of the maker’s stocks with the money and will be able to take control of the management. The rest of the investment money will be provided by eight manufacturers such as Toyota and Nissan, which are major customers of Renesas.