TOTO Announces Closure of Two Factories in China, Laying Off 2000 Employees
Japanese sanitary ware manufacturer TOTO has announced the closure of its factories in Beijing and Shanghai due to ongoing weakness in the Chinese real estate market and inadequate consumer demand, resulting in the layoff of approximately 2,000 employees and a reduction of about 40% in production capacity. Industry insiders express concerns that the collapse of leading companies could have significant repercussions across the supply chain. According to TOTO's latest financial report, revenue from China has dropped to approximately 66.9 billion yen, a 20.4% decrease from the previous year, with a reported loss of 3.6 billion yen. Although officials claim that China's economy is improving, foreign enterprises and local manufacturers continue to face severe operational challenges, and incidents of unpaid wages have been increasingly common, affecting many families' livelihoods.
