Toshiba To Scale Back Consumer PC Business, Laying Off 900 Employees
Hot on the heels of Microsoft issuing a second wave of layoffs, Toshiba announced that it too will be handing out pink slips. The reason? Apparently the consumer PC market is just too damn volatile, so Toshiba plans to accelerate its restructuring effort that will ultimately see a reduced presence in that market and an increased focus on the "profitable B2B field," or business-to-business segment.
Toshiba said it plans to expand its range of business PCs, including its workstations and tablet PCs. It will also be more active in promoting the Internet of Things (IoT), a market Toshiba is confident it can compete in due to its strengths and experience in various PC technologies, such as BIOS, security, wireless, and high-density mounting, the company said. Toshiba expects its efforts to result in a 50 percent sales growth for its B2B sales in 2016.
As for the consumer PC business, not only does Toshiba believe it's a volatile one, the company also says it's "over-dependent" on volume sales. With that being the case, Toshiba will pull its consumer PC business out of several markets, reducing its footprint around the world from 32 to 13 territories by the end of the year.
Unfortunately, that strategy comes at a cost. Toshiba's global workforce will shrink by about 900 employees within this fiscal year, which represents more than 20 percent of its PC business headcount. In doing so, Toshiba expects to save 20 billion yen (about $183.5 million in U.S. currency).
Toshiba said it plans to expand its range of business PCs, including its workstations and tablet PCs. It will also be more active in promoting the Internet of Things (IoT), a market Toshiba is confident it can compete in due to its strengths and experience in various PC technologies, such as BIOS, security, wireless, and high-density mounting, the company said. Toshiba expects its efforts to result in a 50 percent sales growth for its B2B sales in 2016.
As for the consumer PC business, not only does Toshiba believe it's a volatile one, the company also says it's "over-dependent" on volume sales. With that being the case, Toshiba will pull its consumer PC business out of several markets, reducing its footprint around the world from 32 to 13 territories by the end of the year.
Unfortunately, that strategy comes at a cost. Toshiba's global workforce will shrink by about 900 employees within this fiscal year, which represents more than 20 percent of its PC business headcount. In doing so, Toshiba expects to save 20 billion yen (about $183.5 million in U.S. currency).
