GGRAsia – Up to 7pct Sega Sammy staff may retire amid cuts

Up to 7pct Sega Sammy staff may retire amid cuts

Nov 12, 2020 Newsdesk Japan, Latest News, Top of the deck

Japanese entertainment conglomerate Sega Sammy Holdings Inc says up to 7.2 percent – or 650 – of its eligible 9,051 staff, are qualified to opt for “voluntary retirement” as part of cost-cutting measures by the group, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

A recent filing to Jasdaq didn’t clarify the age bracket for eligibility, but said that any volunteers had between November 16 and December 25 to apply, with accepted applicants due to depart on February 28 next year.

Sega Sammy Holdings is parent of casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc.

The parent said it would be extending payment of “extraordinary retirement allowances” and “re-employment support” for those joining the group’s voluntary retirement call.

In August the group had said it would undergo what it termed structural reform, in order to respond to the impact of Covid-19. The call for voluntary retirement of employees was an act “necessary” for the group to reduce fixed costs, and build an “even more efficient system,” the Friday announcement stated.

Sammy Holdings said the group expected to record “approximately JPY10 billion” (US$96.6 million) in what it called “extraordinary losses” due to “structural reform expenses” – for the fiscal year ending March 2021.

The Japanese group also noted in the filing that it has decided to cut the monthly base salary for its own senior executives, including those working for the group’s other companies. The salary cuts would last from the current month, to March 2021, Sega Sammy Holdings announced.

At the parent company, representative directors would see a 30-percent cut in monthly base salary; while those at senior executive vice president, director of the board, level would see 20 percent shaved off monthly base salary. Those graded as senior vice president, director of the board, would see a reduction of 10 percent of monthly base salary.

At other companies within the group, those at representative director, executive director of the board level, will see a cut ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent of monthly base salary; and those at director of the board level, 5 percent to 10 percent of monthly base salary.