Sanyo retirees to benefit from new share windfall

OSAKA (Kyodo) Sanyo Electric Co. will give away shares to retiring group employees as an extra retirement allowance, company officials said Wednesday.

The system is expected to be introduced in October, they said.

"We want our employees to work with a sense of company management, and to become stable shareholders after retirement," a Sanyo spokesman said.

The home appliance maker based in Moriguchi, Osaka Prefecture, has reached a basic accord with its labor union on the system, the officials said.

The company has already introduced stock options as an incentive, but they target only some of its employees. The new retirement benefits will cover all employees of its major group companies operating in Japan. Such employees number around 30,000, the officials said.

Under the new system, Sanyo will give away a certain amount of company shares in addition to paying regular retirement benefits.

The amount of shares will be decided based on the length of service provided by the retiring employees.

For example, those who have worked 30 years will be eligible to receive 1,000 shares, worth 537,000 yen at Tuesday's close of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Sanyo will either purchase the necessary amounts of shares from the market or use its treasury shares for the system.