Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Panasonic to axe 40,000 jobs: source
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (0)
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Storms knock out TVA nuclear units, power lines
27 Apr 2011
Alabama storms, tornoadoes kill 45 -authorities
27 Apr 2011
Exclusive: Facebook investors look for exits
27 Apr 2011
UPDATE 8-Buffett's Berkshire says Sokol deceived, broke law
27 Apr 2011
UPDATE 3-Sony gamers threaten to leave after hack
27 Apr 2011
Discussed
150
Texas governor calls for prayers for rain
138
Obama sees no magic bullet to push down gas prices
90
White House releases longer Obama birth certificate
Watched
Fire ants form rafts to defy floods
Tue, Apr 26 2011
Nokia announces layoffs, outsourcing
Wed, Apr 27 2011
Tornado caught on security camera video
Tue, Apr 26 2011
Panasonic to axe 40,000 jobs: source
Tweet
Share this
By Isabel Reynolds and Reiji Murai
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic Corp will slash 40,000 jobs over the next two years in a bid to pare costs and keep up with ever-tougher competition from Asian rivals, a source said...
Email
Print
Related News
Nokia axes 7,000 jobs to cut costs
Wed, Apr 27 2011
Furor at Sony after hackers steal Playstation user data
Wed, Apr 27 2011
S&P cuts Japan sovereign rating outlook on quake costs
Wed, Apr 27 2011
Sharp offers no annual forecast after quake
Wed, Apr 27 2011
Auto production faces bigger hit after Japan quake
Mon, Apr 25 2011
Analysis & Opinion
Tech wrap: Sony admits PlayStation Network privacy breach
Entry-level job market best in 3 years
Related Topics
Technology »
Hot Stocks »
Asian Markets »
Japan »
Natural Disasters »
Stocks
A woman looks at a Panasonic TV set at an electronics shop in Tokyo in this October 30, 2009 file photo. Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic Corp will slash 40,000 jobs over the next two years in a bid to pare costs and keep up with ever-tougher competition from Asian rivals, a source said on April 28, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon/Files
By Isabel Reynolds and Reiji Murai
TOKYO |
Thu Apr 28, 2011 3:36am EDT
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic Corp will slash 40,000 jobs over the next two years in a bid to pare costs and keep up with ever-tougher competition from Asian rivals, a source said on Thursday.
Releasing its annual results, Panasonic declined to comment on the job cuts, which represent more than 10 percent of its 380,000 strong workforce, but set aside 110 billion yen ($1.3 billion) in restructuring expenses for the year to March 2012.
President Fumio Ohtsubo is scheduled to speak to the media about the company's future direction at 0810 GMT.
"The figure is huge, but so is the company, and for an old-fashioned one like Panasonic, this is a big move," said Toru Hashizume, chief investment officer at Stats Investment Management in Tokyo.
"In the mid-term, the stock is priced low, it is around the level it was after Lehman, even though the current conditions are more favorable for Panasonic," he added, referring to the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the global financial crisis.
The source who spoke to Reuters had direct knowledge of the matter, but cannot be identified because the plan has not been made public.
Once unrivalled, Japan's consumer electronic firms are facing increasing competition from cheaper Korean and Chinese producers in particular.
Panasonic said its operating profit for the fourth quarter ended March fell by almost a third to 41 billion yen. It did not give a forecast for the current year because of uncertainties following last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Operating profit was 305.3 billion yen ($3.7 billion) for the year just ended, falling short of its own earlier forecast of 310 billion yen.
The figure was slightly better than a consensus of 297 billion yen, based on Thomson Reuters SmartEstimate, which places greater weight on recent estimates by highly rated analysts.
The SmartEstimate for the current year to March 2012 is for a profit fall to 260 billion yen as the company struggles with production woes and weak domestic demand following the earthquake.
Panasonic said without the impact of the quake, its forecast for this year would have been for an operating profit of 310 billion yen.
CUTTING OVERLAP
Panasonic is seeking to shift its focus to environmental and energy-related businesses such as rechargeable batteries in order to duck competition from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and others in consumer technology.
As part of that strategy, it announced last year it would make Panasonic Electric Works and Sanyo Electric Co wholly owned units, absorbing a combined 160,000 workers, said the Nikkei newspaper, which first reported the job cuts.
Panasonic is now seeking to shed staff in overlapping businesses, particularly abroad, it added.
The units make a wide range of products including rechargeable batteries, factory robots, electronic components, lighting and solar panels.
Shares of the electronics conglomerate closed up 2.4 percent in Tokyo, outpacing a 1.6 percent gain in the benchmark Nikkei 225 index.
Unlike their western counterparts, Japanese companies tend to avoid dumping large numbers of workers, particularly at home.
The latest staff cuts overshadow past Panasonic restructurings including 26,000 workers shed after the information-technology bubble burst, and about 15,000 in the aftermath of the Lehman shock, the paper said.
It is equal to about all the jobs lost in the United States in March according to data released by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc, an outplacement firm that compiles monthly U.S. employment numbers. ($1 = 82.220 Japanese Yen)
(Additional reporting by Arpita Mukherjee in Bangalore and Isabel Reynolds, Nathan Layne, James Topham and Tim Kelly in Tokyo; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Vinu Pilakkott)
Technology
Hot Stocks
Asian Markets
Japan
Natural Disasters
Tweet this
Share this
Link this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Reader Feedback
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Analyst Research
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
FindLaw
Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service
Reuters on Facebook
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Thursday, 28 April 2011 Two hundred Baathists resign in Syria's Deraa
|
Searchers find part of Air France black box off Brazil
|
Saudi Arabia detains bloggers over protest: activists
|
Iran steps up rate of public executions: Amnesty
|
FBI probes of some cyber attacks face troubles
|
Visa backs Twitter co-founder's mobile venture
|
Rivals seek joint review of AT&T's deals
|
PepsiCo to launch social vending machine
|
EBay profit tops forecasts on higher sales
|
Ericsson quarterly profit surges on mobile broadband demand
|
Katie Holmes settles libel suit on drugs claim
|
Film-maker Aronofsky to chair Venice fest jury
|
Schwarzenegger to star in proposed new Terminator
|
Grammy, Broadway producer John Cossette dies at 54
|
Syria's Assad facing dissent over Deraa crackdown
|
U.S. helps Libyan rebels as fighting rages in west
|
Bomb hits Pakistan navy bus, third this week
|
China grows more slowly to 1.34 billion, older and more urban
|
N.Korea demands U.S. security guarantee for nuclear talks:Carter
|
Kandahar jail governor detained after mass breakout
|
Thai army reinforces troops at Cambodian border
|
Yemen opposition warns bloodshed may derail deal
|
Ivory Coast insurgent militia leader killed
|
Sony faces global legal action over breach; shares fall
|
Verizon racing to fix high-speed network outage
|
Samsung launches Galaxy S sequel
|
Panasonic to axe 40,000 jobs: source
|
Logitech profit drops
|
Baidu sees stronger-than-expected Q2 revenue
|
The Voice opens big for NBC
|
Tyler joined Idol to prove point to bandmates
|
Feisty boxing mom portrayed in The Fighter dies
|
Shirelles and Dionne Warwick sue new Broadway show
|
Law & Order SVU's Hargitay sues talent agency
|
Surprise Palestinian unity deal challenges Israel
|
Blast in Morocco tourist cafe kills 14
|
Turkish troops kill 7 Kurdish rebels in clash
|
Ugandan opposition leader detained for fourth time
|
Somali pirates release Panama-flagged bulk carrier
|
Humala's lead over Fujimori narrows in Peru race
|
Exclusive: Facebook investors look for exits
|
Sprint pumps up revenue with new fees
|
Microsoft vs U.S. antitrust battle soon to be history
|
EBay forecast pleases as PayPal, auctions gain users
|
Open Text poised to grow due to solid pipeline: analysts
|
Baidu sees stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue
|
William and Kate deeply touched by well-wishers
|
Reluctant songwriter Rod Stewart honored in Hollywood
|
Iraq aims to revive movie-going stifled by Saddam, war
|
Katie Holmes settles libel suit on drugs claim
|
Nigeria's Femi Kuti lauded as best World Music artist
|
Fervor builds ahead of British royal wedding
|
Royal wedding apathy matches passion in Britain
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights