The Japanese manufacturer, which employs close to 40,000 people globally, said that with this initiative, which it announced yesterday (4 April), it expects to “accelerate business selection and concentration” and improve the group’s productivity.

The company stated: “With the basic policy of challenging and achievable target and return to a highly profitable company, the Medium-term Business Plan has set three major action agendas; business selection and concentration, reallocation of resources to strengthening businesses; structural reform implementation to reinforce profit foundation; and reinforcement of business management system.

“The company carries out business selection and concentration in fiscal 2023 and 2024 and aims to establish a foundation for growth in fiscal 2025.”

In order to achieve its aims, it said the entire group will adopt measures to improve productivity per employee, “in addition to the selection and concentration of businesses”.

It said investments will be strengthened, including the utilisation of generative AI, “to shift the human assets to highly value-added operations”.

In addition, the company said it will continue to evaluate and assign skilled talents to the right positions “and invest in human asset development education”. It said these efforts, and a focus on interactive communications, will increase employee engagement.

As an additional measure for enhancing productivity, the company said it would optimise its headcount globally “by around 2,400 people, including regular and non-regular employees, and it will be implemented during fiscal 2024”.

As a result, it said the business contribution profit in fiscal 2025 is expected to increase by around 20 billion yen (£104.6m), compared with what it would be before the optimisation. The measures will be implemented in compliance with local labour laws, rules, and regulations.

One-time expenses associated with the global structural reforms will be recorded during fiscal 2024 and are expected to be approximately 20 billion yen. The company said it will announce details once they are finalised, “after examination of the future status”.

Earlier this year, Konica Minolta said it was streamlining its business units into three – a move that meant Professional Print would be combined with its workplace operations in a huge new division.