The group said it planned to "thoroughly review operational efficiency... mainly in sales and indirect departments, and reevaluate the numbers of organisations and personnel actually needed".

"Through these measures, the company will optimise our personnel on a global scale," it said in a statement.

"This measure targets 10,000 employees (5,000 in Japan and 5,000 overseas) at consolidated companies," it said. The figure represents around four percent of the firm's total workforce of nearly 230,000.

The cuts will be implemented mainly in the financial year ending in March, "in accordance with the labour laws, rules, and regulations of each country and region".

Pioneering electronic appliances from rice cookers to batteries to video recorders, the brand became a global household behemoth in the latter half of the 20th century.