Toshiba Waves Goodbye To Japanese Handset Plant

Toshiba, the Japanese electronics giant, will end its handset production at its Hino plant in western Japan in September 2009. Recording its biggest ever loss of JPY343.6bn (US$3.6bn) in the year ended March 31 2009, blamed on poor handset demand and a stronger yen, Toshiba, which is the country's sixth-ranked handset provider with a 7% market share, aims to cut annual fixed costs by US$47mn through outsourcing some of its production to unnamed overseas firms. The company is forecasting a return to operating profits in this financial year on account of its cost-cutting exercise, valued at US$3bn in total.

To read the full article, please choose one of the following options: