Olympus President Tsuyoshi Kikukawa said in an interview with Bloomberg that his company plans to cut digital camera production costs by 30% or more. He predicted digital camera prices would decline 15% to 20% this year. Olympus is looking at contract manufacturers to produce some parts. The company has already announced plans to cut jobs at its camera unit this year.
At least one analyst thinks Olympus is taking the wrong approach. Mitsuhiro Osawa of Mizuho Investors Securities thinks the company should focus on making competitive products, not simply cutting costs.
