On November 29th, NEC issued a press release stating that its wholly-owned subsidiary NEC Lighting, which is engaged in the lighting business, will sell the new company 100% funded by the investment fund Nippon MiraiCapital. The transfer date is scheduled to be April 1, 2019. With the consideration of the transfer, NEC will acquire a 5% stake in the new company.
Since the production of fluorescent lamps in 1952, NEC lighting has been in business for more than 60 years. NEC Lighting was established in January 2000, with revenue of 17.2 billion yen and 403 employees in 2017. In recent years, LED lighting competition is fierce, leading to a loss of NEC lighting business every year, so the resolution has withdrawn.
In addition, NEC announced that the 3,000 layoffs announced in January this year will be successfully reached.
From October 29th to November 9th, 2018, NEC recruited employees who were over 45 years old and had a seniority of more than five years. A total of 2,170 employees were recruited. And before the end of March 2019, about 400 employees will be transferred to a cooperative company and business partners outside the group. Together with NEC Lighting, which will have about 400 employees, a total of about 3,000 will be laid off.
