Takata Relocates Japan HQ to Cut Costs

Troubled airbag supplier Takata Corp. will move its Tokyo headquarters next week from Tokyo’s upscale Roppongi district to a more modest location in the city.

Takata is relocating to one floor of an office tower in a former warehouse district near Tokyo Bay, The Japan Times reports. The move will save about 50 million yen ($440,000) per year, according to the company.

Takata’s market capitalization has plummeted to about $285 million from $1.2 billion at the end of last year. The company, which hopes to secure a financial savior by year-end, is struggling to survive global recalls by more than a dozen carmakers to replace about 100 million of the company’s potentially lethal airbag inflators.

Analyst estimates of the total cost of the recalls, virtually all of which has been paid to date by the affected carmakers, have been as great as 1.3 trillion yen ($11.4 billion).