TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic Corp. (PCRFY.PK, PCRFF.PK) would withdraw from TV production in China and Mexico, as part of a restructuring plan aimed at stemming losses, Nikkei reported.
The report said that the company would finish its structural reforms by the end of the current year through March 31. The biggest issue was boosting earnings in the TV segment, which kept losing money over the last six years. The company intends to cut back overseas production by 700,000 units a year, bringing worldwide output down about 10%. Of its five key TV factories, just those in Japan, Malaysia and the Czech Republic will remain after the Chinese and Mexican plants are shut down.
According to the report, the Chinese factory was closed Friday. Panasonic intends to liquidate the 80%-owned joint venture in Shandong Province, with the several hundred workers there likely to be dismissed. It will continue to sell TVs in China by procuring from others the roughly 200,000 units a year that it used to manufacture in-house.
The reported indicated that the company plans to sell its plant in Mexico which produces TVs for the North American market.
The company also plans to focus more on high-resolution models and other high-value-added TVs.
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