Canon Consolidates Sales Divisions to Trim Expenses

Canon U.S.A. is consolidating its sales divisions, reducing multiple sales groups to two, which will operate under a single marketing organization, as reported by libn.com.

In addition, Canon Solutions America, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A will merge with the parent company, effective Jan. 1, 2025, according to the employee memo from Sammy Kobayashi, president and CEO of Canon U.S.A.

According to an internal company memo, the moves are said to be part of an ongoing effort to reduce expenses. There is no indication whether the moves would lead to job cuts or a reduction of its real estate footprint.

Recently, Canon’s Melville headquarters laid off between 100 and 150 employees, representing 14 percent of the company’s Long Island workforce. This came just six months after the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency approved $7 million in additional tax breaks for Canon over the next 12 years. The agency has stated that it might consider clawing back these benefits if the company’s Long Island workforce falls below 1,081 full-time equivalent employees.

Canon witnessed a 8.2 percent growth in global sales in the first half of the year, the conglomerate’s best first-half performance in 16 years, mainly thanks to favorable exchange rate between the Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar. It also credited “strong production printing and medical equipment sales,” and a successful second quarter by Canon Marketing Japan’s Managed IT business.

The OEM anticipates achieving approximately $2 billion in profit this year, marking a 15 percent increase from 2023. Based in Tokyo, the company projects sales of $27.9 billion for 2024.

However, sales for Canon Americas have dropped steadily in the last 16 years, down 37 percent from their peak in 2007. “While Canon enjoyed a successful first half on a global basis, Canon Americas continues to decline that is not sustainable,” Kobayashi wrote in the memo. “…despite our best efforts, we could not achieve as much revenue and profit as the first half last year. Our profitability is hurt by the fact that our operating expenses are too high. Our operating profit ratio is smaller than many of our competitors, leaving us at a disadvantage.”

A spokesperson from Canon stated: “Canon’s reorganizational efforts are designed to streamline operations and promote increased efficiency to achieve the necessary performance levels to meet our targets and remain competitive in a fast-changing industry. These plans were not made lightly, but they will support the company’s ability to meet the needs of our current and future clients and customers. Our success on the global level can provide Canon Americas with the necessary momentum for growth. Canon is steadfast in its dedication to long-term sustainability and supporting our customers and partners. By facing customers and business partners without any silos, we will be better equipped to make speedy decisions and provide our customers with value-added solutions for growth.”

About Canon Solutions America

Canon Solutions America was launched in Jan. 2013 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A. The subsidiary, which supplies industry enterprise, production and large format printing solutions, had merged the business operations of Canon Business Solutions, Inc., Océ North America, Inc., and Océ Imagistics, Inc. Canon Solutions America has Long Island offices at 90 Merrick Ave. in East Meadow and Canon U.S.A. headquarters in Melville.

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