OSAKA (Kyodo) Sanyo Electric Co. plans to reduce the number of group companies at home and abroad by about 10 percent from the current 300 to accelerate its restructuring efforts, company sources said Friday.
The struggling consumer electronics maker has yet to specify targeted firms, but the reduction is expected to focus on some 160 overseas companies, the sources said.
Sanyo wants to reduce costs by consolidating unprofitable firms and overlapping personnel, accounting and other back office divisions, they said.
Reassessing domestic and overseas group firms is a pressing task for Sanyo. The number of group firms has ballooned in the process of entering into overseas markets and diversifying its business.
Sanyo hopes to swing back into the black in the current business year to next March with a group net profit of 65 billion yen, compared with a loss of 206 billion yen in the previous year.
The company has been promoting restructuring efforts. It has already cut 14,000 jobs.