Japanese manufacturers redefine their global roles

Japanese listed companies this year have announced plans to slash some 120,000 jobs to survive hard times in the high-technology, distribution and pharmaceutical industries, a newspaper reported yesterday.

Topping the list of 82 companies in the Nihon Keizai financial daily was electronics giant Toshiba Corp, which in August said it would eliminate 17,000 positions, or about 9 percent of its worldwide work force, in the next three years amid a global electronics downturn. Toshiba was followed by major electrical machinery maker Hitachi Ltd with 11,100 job cuts and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co -- which exports products under the "National" and "Panasonic" brands -- with 8,000 cuts.

Such moves are part of a larger effort among Japanese manufacturers to redefine their global roles. They are gradually losing out to competition from other parts of Asia, where companies have an edge because of cheaper labor.