Hitachi Data Systems has taken a leaf out of the Telstra business survival manual with the announcement that it will offer redundancy packages to 16 per cent of its local staff.
The wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-headquartered Hitachi said in a statement issued yesterday that it looked forward to the "greater revenue-generating opportunities" that it predicted would result from the staffing cuts.
Greg Cornfield, the company's vice president for Asia-Pacific, stressed that the company now needed to "prove to the market that we're committed to . . . retaining quality employees".
Most staff receiving the redundancy packages will be those involved in back-office functions, Hitachi said.
Hitachi Data Systems announced earlier this year that it would sack 480 staff from its US operation, as well as 90 staff from Europe.
According to Hitachi, the company's revenues currently account for 1 per cent of Japan's gross domestic product.
