Nikon the struggling Japanese camera Company has moved to slash over 700 jobs after the Company admitted that they are facing sustained losses because of the coronavirus pandemic,
Several analysts claim the Company was struggling prior to COVID-19 as consumers took to using high quality cameras in smartphones.
After moving their manufacturing to Thailand and South East Asia the Company is now moving to restructure its digital camera business.
Thailand was hit with the bulk of the downsizing, losing 500 jobs at the expense of head office cuts in Japan.
At this stage it’s not known whether any cuts are being made to the Australian operation which has also come under pressure in recent years.
According to the Nikki Asian Times The pandemic has affected earnings at Nikon, one of the biggest manufacturers in the industry.
The company announced Thursday net profit fell 88% to 7.6 billion yen ($70 million) for the year ended March 31.
The spread of the COVID-19 disease has delayed the launch of cameras, including the D6, a digital model with a huge fanbase among sports photographers, contributing to the loss of sales. A subsidiary also booked an impairment loss.
In light of the effect of the pandemic on the global economy moving forward, “we will optimize the scale of production,” Hiroyuki Ikegami, senior vice president in charge of the imaging unit, said during Thursday’s virtual news conference.
Nikon has not released guidance for the current fiscal year. The recovery of camera sales is currently lagging.
“We have to prepare for two straight annual losses” at the imaging business, said Chief Financial Officer Muneaki Tokunari.
