KARUNA SHINSHO, CNN ANCHOR, ASIA TONIGHT: Well, despite those somewhat positive signs, Japan's biggest electronics maker is reeling from the global economic slowdown. Rebecca MacKinnon reports from Tokyo.</s>REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Japan's benchmark Nikkei index hit it's third 17-year low in as many days. Investors dumped high-tech shares on news that Hitachi is the latest Japanese high-tech firm to layoff thousands of people, 14,700 by April, 4 percent of its workforce. Hitachi executives say they have no choice with an earnings forecast now revised downward from a $700 million profit to a $1.2 billion loss.</s>ETSUHIKO SHOYAMA, HITACHI PRESIDENT (through translator): This is why we plan to complete the number of job cuts we raised today by the end of the fiscal year. You can never tell the economic situation we will be in next year. We believe there is no end to restructuring.</s>MACKINNON: Hitachi's president blamed the global technology bust for the large number of job cuts.</s>SHOYAMA: We suspect that the situation will linger for another year or so, therefore we have to make a decisive move, not a temporary measure.</s>MACKINNON: Hitachi is just the latest Japanese tech giant to lay off thousands of workers; Toshiba, Fujitsu and NEC, among others, have all announced drastic restructuring plans. Rebecca MacKinnon, CNN, Tokyo.
Hitachi Reeling from Global Slowdown