Nikon Corp. will expand hiring for positions without salary caps, a new program that differs from Nikon’s regular hiring and compensation and aims to attract engineers and other highly skilled professionals from outside the company, Nikkei Asia reported. Nikon faces intense global competition and needs professionals who can drive innovation and expansion into new markets.
Nikon, whose products include cameras and chip manufacturing equipment, will decide how much to offer candidates based on their skills and job responsibilities.
Nikon has already hired about 10 people under this program, including overseas business development specialists and M&A experts. Even young candidates are likely to earn more than 20 million yen ($148,000) a year. Nikon aims to expand this hiring to include data scientists and other skilled technical workers.
Nikon is using its optics and measurement technologies to expand into new businesses, and last year announced the acquisition of German 3D printer maker SLM Solutions Group for more than $600 million. In addition, Nikon is seeking talent for business opportunities related to artificial intelligence.
Nikon began paying salaries based on job responsibilities and performance in 2018, a departure from the seniority-based pay scale still commonly used in Japan.
Other large Japanese companies are reportedly trying to raise or remove pay caps. NEC adopted an uncapped pay rate for young researchers in 2019. Fujitsu offers salaries of up to 35 million yen per year based on experience.
