Thursday, April 28, 2011

Panasonic fir 40,000 workers in two years

The giant Japanese consumer electronics, Panasonic, lay off 40,000 workers in two years in an attempt to improve their competitiveness against Asian rivals, according to Reuters. The company employs 380,000 people and invest over a billion dollars in restructuring the company. Analysts believe that this is a great movement to modernize.

The information has not been confirmed by the company. The Japanese electronics industry, a pioneer in this sector, is facing increasing competition from Korean manufacturers (like Samsung or LG) and Chinese. Panasonic is trying to redirect the focus of its production by paying more attention to energy saving with, for example, rechargeable batteries, robotics, solar panels ...


According to analysts, one of the causes of this mass dismissal must be sought in the purchase in 2008 from Sanyo. The full integration of both teams was completed in April this year and Panasonic this measure would streamline its workforce, particularly outside Japan. The latest results presented this month by the company show an annual profit of 643 million euros, confirming the departure of the red at end of year 2010-2011.

Panasonic has no expectations for this year due to earthquake. Over the past year, Panasonic has enjoyed a surge in sales of televisions and cooling systems through a policy of subsidies in Japan seeking the renewal of the domestic electronics with energy efficient appliances. Panasonic has already made job cuts earlier, following the bursting of the tech bubble (over 25,000 jobs) and the crisis of Lehman Brothers (about 15,000).

Cutting Panasonic is one of the biggest layoffs of people in history, a level not seen since the U.S. financial firms laid off thousands of people following the bankruptcy of Lehman in 2008. Panasonic's firing is about all the job losses in the U.S. in March, according to data released by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement firm that produces the monthly unemployment figure in the U.S.

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