Tomy exits North American toy market (almost)

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Dr. Serkan Toto currently works as the first and only Asia-based writer for the TechCrunch network, mainly covering Japan-related technology and web companies for TechCrunch, CrunchGear and MobileCrunch. Serkan also works full-time as an independent web and mobile industry consultant with a focus on the Japanese market. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. Serkan... → Learn More

tomy_robot_i_sobot

Today is a sad day for gadget lovers. Japanese toy maker Tomy is pulling the plug on the North American market. The company behind the i-Sobot, the Dustbot, the digi cam with built-in printer and the AeroSpider said Tuesday in Tokyo it will focus on Europe instead.

Tomy announced they will cut staff in the USA by around 40%. From March, Tomy USA will focus on selling game software only and will employ about 15 workers in the US.

The company will additionally reduce its work force in Thailand by 40% as early as the end of this month, letting go of 680 part-time employees and around 50 full-timers. Tomy expects savings of around $2 million per year through this move. In Europe, Tomy will abandon sales of board games and also lay off staff to cut payroll expenses by another $6 million.

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