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World Business Quick Take

■ Electronics
Pioneer planning job cuts
Pioneer Corp, a major maker of plasma display panels, said yesterday it planned to eliminate 2,000 jobs over an unspecified period. "Through consolidation of our branches and outlets, we plan to achieve a reduction of 2,000 jobs," company president Kaneo Ito told a news conference. It was not immediately clear when the job cuts would be completed. The group's workforce totaled 36,360 at the end of March last year, according to Pioneer's Web site. Pioneer has been under pressure to cut costs after its net profit for the third quarter to last December plunged 80.5 percent from a year earlier to ¥1.78 billion (US$17 million).

■ Insurance
AIG fires two executives
American International Group Inc (AIG), one of the world's biggest insurance companies, fired two top executives for failing to cooperate with government investigators, a spokesman for the company said on Tuesday. The dismissals of Howard Smith, the chief financial officer, and vice president Christian Milton were first reported in Tuesday editions of the Wall Street Journal. Smith took leave from the company last week in a management shuffle that also saw the board remove chairman Maurice Greenberg as chief executive officer, a post he had held for nearly 40 years. The Journal said Smith and Milton were likely to be knowledgeable about a transaction under scrutiny by federal and state regulations involving General Re Corp, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

■ Internet
Livedoor takeover approved
The Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court ruling that backed upstart Internet company Livedoor's hostile takeover bid for a radio broadcaster -- a step that could give Livedoor a lot of influence over one of Japan's main media conglomerates. The decision bans Nippon Broadcasting System Inc from issuing massive numbers of new shares to block the takeover. Last month, Livedoor said it had a 35 percent stake in Nippon Broadcasting, stunning the nation. Tokyo-based Livedoor has since boosted its stake in Nippon Broadcasting, reportedly to more than 50 percent.

■ Labor
Japanese lack motivation
The number of Japanese youth lacking motivation to study or work has grown at an alarming pace, adding to fears of future labor shortages in a nation with one of the lowest birthrates in the world, officials said yesterday. Some 850,000 people aged 15 to 34 are believed to be neither in school nor employed as of October 2002, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the Cabinet Office. The number of such people has jumped 27 percent from 670,000 in 1992, the office said. "Many young people seem to have lost motivation to get a job," said Hiroshi Ito, an official at the Cabinet Office's youth section. "We must find ways to get them to regain motivation and return to society."

■ Aviation
Citigroup hits at Virgin Blue
Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd is one of the most expensive airlines in the world and its shares may slump by a third, Citigroup Inc said. Citigroup forecast Virgin Blue's shares may drop as low as A$1.24 in the next 12 months, according to a note to clients published yesterday. Shares of Virgin Blue, which is the target of a takeover from Patrick Corp, closed yesterday at A$1.89 in Sydney, A$0.01 below Patrick's offer price.

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