Ricoh plans to cut its global workforce by about 10,000 people, in order to reduce costs.
The office equipment company currently has about 110,000 employees around the world.
Shares in Ricoh surged more than 7% on the news. The company, which makes copiers and cameras, was hit by the global financial crisis and is struggling to recover.
President and chief executive Shiro Kondo said the company's corporate structure needed to become ''more muscular''.
''We have done very little pruning of unprofitable businesses, and we need to pull out of some.'' he said.
Ricoh, which is based in Tokyo, expects the job cuts will cost around 60 billion yen ($US733 million) over two years.
But the measures are eventually expected to boost operating profit by 140 billion yen in three years. The company has also been hurt by a stronger yen.
The BBC reports the earthquake and tsunami on 11 March damaged some of Ricoh's facilities.
