Mitsubishi Heavy To Cut 5,000 Jobs, Forecasts Net Loss

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. announced it will cut its work force by 5,000 under a new business plan to be drawn up by the end of October. Under the staff-reduction plan, the company plans to cut its total work force to 35,000 from the current 40,000 by the end of 2003-04. The company will reportedly focus more on energy-related business, including gas turbines and fuel cells, and seek to further expand cooperation with Boeing Co. and Airbus Industries in the aviation business. Mitsubishi Heavy also announced that the company is expecting a group net loss of $500 million for the year to March 2000, against a May forecast of nil profit and an actual net profit of $170 million a year ago.