Japanese Companies' "Lifetime Employment System" Is Changing
On February 8, the Japanese news agency "Jiji Press" published an article: The trend of laying off employees who voluntarily resign is spreading among large Japanese companies, even if their performance achieves profitability.
In the past, only loss-making companies used this method to achieve cost rationalization. However, with the acceleration of technological innovation, companies are now promptly correcting structural imbalances in their personnel composition, striving to promote sustainable growth.
Another view holds that the "employment tradition" based on lifetime employment in Japanese companies is changing due to intense competition from foreign companies, and layoffs come with large-scale restructuring.
From December last year to January this year, the Mitsubishi Electric Group sent notices for voluntary retirement recruitment to employees over the age of 53, and a total of 2,378 people applied. The target number of recruits accounted for one quarter of all employees, aiming to optimize the personnel structure and actively promote young talent. It is expected that about 4,700 people will apply for voluntary retirement. The consolidated net profit for the fiscal year ending March 2026 is expected to reach a record high, but in the medium to long term, the expansion of digital services (not limited to hardware) is a bottleneck. According to President Higuma, "We need human resources that can cope with new challenges."
Panasonic Holdings is also recruiting for early retirement, and it is expected that the group will lay off 12,000 people. Olympus plans to lay off about 2,000 people. Both companies expect to be profitable.
According to the Tokyo Shoko Research, there were 43 listed companies that had plans for early retirement recruitment last year, and about 70% of these companies were profitable.
Lin Haoer, president of the Japan Institute, pointed out: "With rapid development in technological innovation in manufacturing, it is difficult to survive unless personnel are quickly replaced." This trend is expected to continue in the future.
Many companies offer favorable conditions for early retirement, such as higher severance pay, but the social image of voluntary resignation is still negative. Although the job market for middle-aged and elderly people is becoming more active, the reality is not that good.
Lin Haoer believes that the "lifetime employment concept" of Japanese companies is changing, due to intensified competition with foreign companies and the determination of compensation based on work content.
In addition, when companies lay off employees, they must carefully explain the situation to them and provide favorable "severance pay" and support for re-employment.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856517775904073/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.