Earlier this week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was showering Panasonic with appreciation. Apparently, the company is still planning to plan to put its US headquarters in Newark, NJ -- and Jersey is very happy about that. Overseas, however, people don't seem to be as thrilled with the consumer electronics manufacturer.
According to Reuters, Panasonic is planning to shutter its plasma TV plant in Amagasaki, Japan (known as Plant #3). Of course, there have been no official announcements yet. However, if all goes as expected there will be about 1,000 less jobs in the industrial city, and a smaller supply of plasma HDTVs worldwide.
First established in late 2009, the Amagasaki plant can produce about 330,000 plasma panels per month.
If the rumored plan is put into effect, the company will make those cuts by March 2012. There could also be a few additional announcements coming. One rumored possibility is that the company may consider outsourcing, in order to cut production costs.
The unconfirmed reports come on the heels of a less-than-stellar sales year, massive volatility in the value of the Yen, an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in their home country and fierce competition from companies such as Samsung and LG.
It's also possible that the number of former Panasonic employees could go up. There are additional rumors that Panasonic could sell off its LCD panel plant in Mobara, Chiba Prefecture. This could cut costs even further. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the LCD plant produces approximately 600,000 32-inch panels a month.
Panasonic has yet to make anything official. The company will announce consolidated financial results for the fiscal 2012 second quarter, including whether to revise the current annual forecast, on October 31, 2011. Panasonic's current fiscal year ends in March, 2012.
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