Jun 12 (NHK) - Keidanren, the Japan Business Federation, says major companies are planning to trim summer bonuses this year.
The federation conducted a survey of firms with more than 500 employees listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. About one-third of the 251 firms responded.
The survey found that the average summer bonus this year will be just over 970,000 yen, roughly 9,000 dollars. That's down 2.5 percent from last year in yen terms.
Construction firms plan to pay an average of 14,400 dollars, a drop of nearly 4 percent. Automakers will pay an average 9,400 dollars, down 3.6 percent.
Only the ship-building and electrical equipment industries reported plans to pay more than last year.
Keidanren says many labor unions didn't push for big bonuses in the spring wage negotiations. Instead they focused on getting increases in base pay.
The federation says companies are worried about the economic outlook, with the US-China trade dispute a major concern.
