Snow Brand to cut 1,000 jobs
food-poisoning last summer, Snow Brand Milk Products Co., a major
Japanese dairy product...
Due to a sharp decline in sales after a massive outbreak of food-poisoning last summer, Snow Brand Milk Products Co., a major Japanese dairy product maker, announced on May 18th that it will cut about 1,000 jobs by the end of September and close an additional three factories by the end of March 2002, reports the Japan Times. Snow Brand's sales decreased 33.5 per cent in FY 2000, which ended March 31, from the previous year to Yen 361.55 bn. Japanese consumers stopped buying Snow Brand products after last year's several food poisoning cases who contaminated 15,000 people. The closure of the three plants will reduce the number of its factories from 21 to 13 by the end of March 2002. Its Osaka plant was shut down in January. The restructuring measures will reduce Snow Brand's workforce to 5,000 at the end of March 2002 from 6,400, factoring in the abolition of 1,000 jobs and the departure of about 400 staff members who reach retirement age. Source: The Japan Times
