Electronics manufacturer VTech Holdings, facing a substantial loss in its financial year closing at the end of this month, has cut its global workforce by 16 per cent - about 4,500 people.
A company statement attributed most of the loss to about US$133 million in exceptional items.
The loss warning came after the Hong Kong-listed company reported an attributable profit of US$800,000 in the six months to September 30, a 97 per cent decline year on year.
To streamline operations and generate bottom-line improvements, VTech has announced a broad-based restructuring to reduce operating costs by about US$30 million a year.
These initiatives will result in a loss of 4,500 jobs, of which 3,000 will come from the closure of two factories in Mexico.
Managing director William Ho Mook-lam said more than 1,000 workers at the company's Dongguan factory were laid off in October.