Fujitsu Ltd., the Japanese company, announced Thursday is expects a $1 billion loss this fiscal year and will be slashing around 5,000 jobs or 3 percent of its workforce in order to lower costs.

Fujitsu said Thursday the job cuts will be completed by the end of this fiscal year next month, and will rely on early retirement, layoffs and other methods. Details were not offered. Meanwhile, the company also announced they will be shifting 4,500 workers to other parts of Fujitsu.

Fujitsu, which has about 170,000 employees, plans to cut about 3,000 jobs in Japan, including contract employees, and 2,000 overseas, the company said yesterday.

The company also announced plans to merge its LSI chip business with that of Panasonic Corp. to boost global competitiveness.

The venture will design large-scale integration, or LSI chips, and contract out their manufacture, according to a joint statement the companies released yesterday. The state-backed Development Bank of Japan has been asked to help finance the venture, the companies said.

Fujitsu said it intends to merge its system large-scale integration chip-development business with that of a fellow ailing technology company, Panasonic Corp. The new company is expected to be created as early as the middle of the fiscal year beginning April 1.