Hitachi to Cut Work Force and CPT Business

TOKYO, March 1 -- As part of its restructuring, Hitachi said it will lower its overall workforce by approximately 20,930 (15,100 in Japan and 5,830 overseas) by the end of June.

In another step, Hitachi is withdrawing from its color picture tube business in the US. As a result, Hitachi Electronic Devices (USA) Inc., in Greenville, S.C., will shift its primary product focus to projection tubes used in projection TVs and will sell its CPT production equipment to Thomson Multimedia. The action will result in a reduction in the company's workforce by approximately 270 production workers and support staff at the Greenville plant and field locations. Thomson will transfer the CPT production equipment to its other manufacturing locations. The action will be effective by the end of April, the company said.

Hitachi also announced it will reconstruct its Display Group by making it a separate company in October 2002. In addition, the group's US subsidiary will phase out production and marketing of cathode ray tubes for direct-view color TV by the end of April.

Last July, Hitachi announced it would withdraw from the business of cathode ray tubes for PC monitors. The group has been focusing on its flat-panel display operations, mainly TFT LCDs, including low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCDs.