February 4, 2026
Large corporations with strong financial performances are increasing their internal reserves. At the same time, many are reducing their workforces. This widespread “profit-driven restructuring” is having a significant impact on workers. Last year, 68% of companies conducting early or voluntary retirement schemes were profitable in the most recent period, and 80% of them were large companies listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Panasonic, for example, is projecting an operating profit of 320 billion yen and has amassed four trillion yen in their retained earnings. Nevertheless, the company is proceeding with plans to cut 10,000 jobs.
In a survey by the Denki-Joho Union which organizes individual workers in the electronics and information industries, a Panasonic employee in her 50s wrote, “I had individual interviews aimed at forcing me to accept early retirement more than three times. I felt that the interviews would not end until I left, and they would treat me badly if I didn’t quit. So, I decided to accept early retirement.”
Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira at a meeting of the House of Councillors Budget Committee on November 13 last year accused Panasonic Holdings’ early retirement incentives as being “job cuts for the sake of stock prices”.
Meanwhile, efforts to curb payroll cuts are yielding results. Major semiconductor maker Renesas, while maintaining an operating profit margin exceeding 25%, internally announced 440 layoffs for November 2023 and 1,000 for 2024. Regarding this issue, JCP member of the House of Representatives Tatsumi Kotaro at a House of Representatives Economy, Trade and Industry Committee meeting in April 2025 demanded that the government instruct companies not to implement unreasonable job cuts.
In response, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) conducted an inquiry with the semiconductor giant. Subsequently, Renesas removed workers who had consulted with the Denki-Joho Union from the restructuring list. By late 2025, the company stopped its policy regarding layoffs.
The JCP together with workers and unions is putting the brakes on profit-driven restructuring.
Panasonic, for example, is projecting an operating profit of 320 billion yen and has amassed four trillion yen in their retained earnings. Nevertheless, the company is proceeding with plans to cut 10,000 jobs.
In a survey by the Denki-Joho Union which organizes individual workers in the electronics and information industries, a Panasonic employee in her 50s wrote, “I had individual interviews aimed at forcing me to accept early retirement more than three times. I felt that the interviews would not end until I left, and they would treat me badly if I didn’t quit. So, I decided to accept early retirement.”
Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira at a meeting of the House of Councillors Budget Committee on November 13 last year accused Panasonic Holdings’ early retirement incentives as being “job cuts for the sake of stock prices”.
Meanwhile, efforts to curb payroll cuts are yielding results. Major semiconductor maker Renesas, while maintaining an operating profit margin exceeding 25%, internally announced 440 layoffs for November 2023 and 1,000 for 2024. Regarding this issue, JCP member of the House of Representatives Tatsumi Kotaro at a House of Representatives Economy, Trade and Industry Committee meeting in April 2025 demanded that the government instruct companies not to implement unreasonable job cuts.
In response, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) conducted an inquiry with the semiconductor giant. Subsequently, Renesas removed workers who had consulted with the Denki-Joho Union from the restructuring list. By late 2025, the company stopped its policy regarding layoffs.
The JCP together with workers and unions is putting the brakes on profit-driven restructuring.
