Struggling Japanese consumer electronics maker JVC said it aims to cut 1,150 workers, or 18 percent of its parent-only workforce, by mid-October as part of its turnaround effort. JVC, owned 17 percent by audio equipment maker Kenwood and 13 percent by asset manager Sparx Group, said it would book a special loss of 11 billion yen ($96 million) for the first half of the current business year that started in April, due to costs for the early-retirement plans. The loss is already factored into its earnings forecasts for the full year to March 2008, JVC said.
The Yokohama-based company also said it plans to sell its cathode ray tube, or CRT, component factory in China's Fujian province to a Hong Kong-based company for an undisclosed sum. The planned sale is also factored into its 2007-2008 earnings outlook. JVC forecast a net loss of 17.2 billion yen for the year to March 2008, a fourth straight year of net losses. Although JVC enjoys strong demand for hard drive-equipped camcorders, it is struggling to compete with industry titans such as Sony and Samsung Electronics in the flat-TV market. Kenwood and its top shareholder, Sparx, bought about 30 percent of JVC in August, taking loss-making JVC off the consolidated accounts of Panasonic maker Matsushita Electric Industrial.