Hitachi restructuring sees job cuts of 20,000

Hitachi, Japan's biggest electronics manufacturer, is reportedly preparing to cut 20,000 jobs and undertake full-scale restructuring of its semiconductor operations, hit hard by this year's steep info-tech downturn.

The newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun said Hitachi was in the final stages of deciding to slash its 340,000 workers by 20,000 and reorganising its assembly plants for semiconductors at home.