Major automakers and electronics manufacturers setting the market for wage hikes offered labor unions smaller increases than the previous year at the climax of the shunto spring labor-management wage negotiations on Wednesday.
Apparently reflecting the economic uncertainties amid a fear of the spread of the new coronavirus, companies' harsh offers were led by Toyota Motor Corp., which is not raising the pay scale base for the first time in seven years.
Toyota instead offered employees an average increase of 8,600 yen to monthly pay that includes the regular wage increases. The union had demanded 10,100 yen.
Nissan Motor Co., whose performance has been deteriorating, offered a pay scale increase of 1,000 yen. The union had demanded 3,000, yen which was the amount agreed to last year.
Honda Motor Co., meanwhile, reached an agreement for 1,500 yen with its union, which had requested 2,000 yen.
Major electronics manufacturers have a practice of adopting a unified level for wage increases among the companies. Last year, they offered an increase of 1,000 yen. This year, the labor side uniformly demanded an increase of 3,000 yen to the pay scale. The management side had intended to reach an agreement to offer an increase of at least 1,000, yen but the amounts differed by company.
Hitachi, Ltd. offered 1,500 yen. Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. reached an agreement for 1,000 yen with their unions.
Panasonic Corp. offered a 1,000 yen hike, the same as last year, part of which will come in the form of the company adding to the defined contribution pension system for its employees.
Toshiba Corp. offered to raise the pay scale by 1,000 yen and added points tantamount to 300 yen that are usable within the company for activities such as learning languages.
Three major steel manufacturers, including Nippon Steel Corp., offered no raise to the pay scale for the first time in seven years.
The harsher offers in this year's shunto come amid the rapidly growing view that, besides the slowdown of the global economy due to U.S.-China trade friction, companies' corporate performance could further deteriorate as the new coronavirus outbreak widens.
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