Japan's Fujitsu to halve office space in three years citing 'new normal'

Japan's Fujitsu Ltd said on Monday it would halve its office space in three years as it rewrites the way employees work under a "new normal" amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The IT solutions company said its roughly 80,000 group employees in Japan would work flexible hours, and work-from-home would be standard wherever possible.

"We will overhaul our current work, allowance and welfare framework that is based on the assumption that employees commute to designated offices every day," Hiroki Hiramatsu, head of the human resources unit, told a news briefing.

Fujitsu has sold or ditched money-losing hardware businesses such as laptops and smartphones in recent years to focus on software services, a business relatively easy to conduct remotely.

While reducing office space, the company plans to launch satellite offices in areas where many employees reside and sign up with more shared workspace providers, Hiramatsu said.