Layoffs in Japan

Crunchyroll, the Sony-owned anime streaming service, is laying off an undisclosed number of employees as part of a restructuring effort announced in early 2025. The company, which employs over 1,000 people, stated that the layoffs are not a cost-cutting measure but rather a strategic shift to adopt a new organizational model focused on regionally-empowered teams and engineering hubs in the U.S., Mexico, and India. President Rahul Purini emphasized that the changes aim to better serve the growing global anime fandom, with the service now boasting over 17 million paid subscribers. While the exact number of affected employees was not revealed, the company noted it is adding more positions than it is eliminating, framing the move as a proactive step to scale for future success in the competitive streaming industry.

NetEase, a major Chinese technology and gaming company, implemented a round of layoffs affecting an unspecified number of employees. The exact scale, including the total workforce impacted and the percentage, was not publicly detailed in the available report. The restructuring appears to be part of broader efficiency measures within the competitive internet and gaming industry. The move reflects ongoing adjustments in the tech sector as companies streamline operations.

Toshiba laid off 4,000 employees on 2024-05-16.

Sony announced on Tuesday that it is laying off around 900 employees from its PlayStation division, affecting 8% of the division's global workforce. The layoffs are part of changes to focus on long-term sustainability and growth, impacting studios like Insomniac Games and Naughty Dog, and come after Sony reduced its PlayStation 5 sales forecast. The cuts will affect employees across the Americas, Japan, EMEA, and APAC regions, with some projects being discontinued.

Japanese hoverbike start-up ALI Technologies has filed for bankruptcy in January 2024, effectively ending its operations and resulting in layoffs for its entire workforce. The company, which aimed to revolutionize urban transport with a $680,000 flying vehicle inspired by Star Wars, struggled from the start due to stringent regulations in Japan and elsewhere that prohibited such devices from flying over city roads. Despite high-profile publicity, including an appearance with Prince Albert II of Monaco, the hoverbike never achieved significant sales. Its U.S. parent company cited the bankruptcy as part of a planned relocation to California, where it hopes to revive the project with a new partner, but the move marks a major setback for the ambitious aerial mobility venture.

Trend Micro, a major Japanese cybersecurity company, laid off approximately 152 employees, representing 2% of its global workforce of 7,582. The job cuts were announced on Tuesday as part of a broader business transformation plan aimed at focusing on customer expansion through its platform. This move aligns the company with a wider trend of tech industry layoffs amid ongoing economic challenges, as Trend Micro indicated it has no plans to actively increase its headcount in the near term.

Japanese recipe-sharing platform Cookpad announced on April 10th that it will cut 80 positions through voluntary retirement and layoffs at its overseas subsidiary, which operates a multilingual recipe service. Additionally, 46 domestic employees will leave by the end of April due to the discontinuation of some local businesses. These workforce reductions, impacting a significant portion of its 409 consolidated employees, are part of a restructuring effort driven by continuous operating losses. The company has reported two consecutive fiscal years of net loss, attributed to a decline in paying members. Special retirement benefits related to these cuts will be booked as operating losses.

Crunchyroll laid off 85 employees on 2023-02-21.

On January 12, 2023, Tokyo-based news aggregator SmartNews, a company valued at $2 billion, laid off approximately 120 employees, representing 40% of its workforce in the U.S. and China. The cuts primarily affected roles in engineering, product, and data science. The company, which employs nearly 900 people globally, cited challenging economic conditions as the reason for the restructuring. Following the announcement, which was made during a remote all-hands meeting, SmartNews also indicated plans for further voluntary departures in its home market of Japan. The layoffs are part of a broader effort to streamline operations amid a difficult market environment for the tech and media industry.