Panasonic Corp. said Wednesday it will slash 15,000 jobs and shut down 27 plants worldwide, joining a slew of major Japanese companies announcing deep cuts as the global slowdown batters the world's second-largest economy. The world's largest maker of plasma display TVs also announced a net loss for the October-December quarter and lowered its forecast for the fiscal year through March to a net loss of $4.2 billion, its first annual loss in six years. Panasonic blamed the dismal results on the global slowdown set off by the U.S. financial crisis, the rapid surge of the yen and sudden price drops. Sales slid in a wide range of products, including flat-panel TVs, DVD recorders, microwaves, lamps and semiconductors, it said. Panasonic said it plans to cut jobs, half of which will be cut from Japan by March 2010. They amount to about 5 percent of its 300,000-strong global work force. Panasonic also will shutter 14 overseas plants and 13 plants in Japan by the end of March to adjust production and cut costs, company spokesman Akira Kadota said. “The company's business conditions have worsened particularly since last October, due mainly to the rapid appreciation of the yen, sluggish consumer spending worldwide and ever intensified price competition,” it said in a statement. Panasonic reported a $709 million loss for the fiscal third quarter, down from a $1.2 billion profit the same quarter the previous year. Quarterly sales dropped 20 percent to $21 billion, with overseas sales decreasing 29 percent, and Japanese sales down 10 percent. The last time Panasonic reported an annual loss was for the fiscal year ended March 2002, when a global electronics slump and massive restructuring costs contributed to 431 billion yen in red ink. Since then, the company has been shedding money-losing businesses and focusing on key products such as plasma display TVs to turn itself around. The latest restructuring measures will cost an additional 190 billion yen on top of the 155 billion yen Panasonic has already announced for the fiscal year through March. Rival Japanese manufacturer Sony Corp. is forecasting a 150 billion yen net loss for the fiscal year through March. Hitachi Ltd., NEC Corp. and Toshiba Corp. are also all forecasting big losses for the fiscal year.
