TOKYO -- Leading Japanese companies including IHI and West Japan Railway have joined the growing ranks of businesses furloughing employees to weather the financial hit from the pandemic, further exacerbating the economic pain for ordinary workers.
IHI, a jet engine builder and heavy machinery maker, will furlough roughly 30,000 employees within and outside Japan for four or five days in June, extending the measure if necessary. Workers will receive about 80% of their regular wages on those days.
