Japan NEC Corp Will Cut 20K Workers

Electronics giant NEC Corp in Japan will cut 20,000 workers worldwide to stanch mounting losses, joining a slew of other Japanese corporate heavyweights who are slashing jobs to survive the deepening global downturn.

Hitachi, another maker of electronic products, also said on Friday that it will cut 7,000 jobs and forecasted a net loss of 700 billion yen ($7.7 billion) for the year through March.

NEC's net loss for October-December swelled to 130 billion yen ($1.46 billion) from 5.2 billion yen a year earlier as the global slump hit semiconductors and other businesses, it said on Friday.