Ricoh to Layoff 338 Workers in France

Union officials said Ricoh plans to cut 338 jobs in France, an estimated 13.5% of the company’s workforce in that country. Mr. Eric Baudart, Ricoh France spokesman, said that the layoff is designed to maintain Ricoh’s competitive position among the top office equipment manufacturers worldwide. Profit margins on photocopiers have been squeezed by intense competition and the company cannot support a further loss in profits.

Thang Doan, representative of the General Confederation of Labor (Confédération Générale du Travail), said at a meeting with company officials, “Management told us it intends to cut 338 positions among the 2,500 the company has in France.” Doan added that two previous waves of layoff have taken place since 2010 and over 200 employees have already left the company in France.

Ricoh has greatly suffered from the global financial crisis and stiff competition in 2008 and 2009. The company announced it planned to cut 10,000 jobs two years ago, which was a tenth of its global workforce. The first major layoff will take place in 2014.