Namco Bandai to axe 10% of staff

Namco Bandai will cut around ten per cent of its workforce in a bid to save the company $38 million.

Some 630 of its workers will be made redundant, the Tokyo-headquartered group said, as part of a wider measure to save the company an annual $88 million.

In a statement the firm said:

“Based on present conditions that include the current severe business climate and declining profitability… Namco Bandai needs to give urgent attention to transforming into a speedy [company],improving its profitability and strengthening its financial standing.

The news comes as the firm makes grave cuts to its sales projections.

Namco Bandai previously estimated it would take a $93.7 million net income for the fiscal year. Today the firm said that figure was going to a $341 million net loss.

The strikingly negative revision furthers Namco Bandai’s run of bad news. In September last year the firm announced a $66 million net loss for the fiscal quarter ending September 2009, citing falling sales amid high costs.