Panasonic Announces Major Employee Layoffs

Panasonic Corp. has witnessed vast losses in the first quarter of the year due to enormous reconstructing costs. Reports claim that tens of thousand of employees from their worldwide work force may be rendered unemployed.

40,000 Less Ideas For Life

During the first quarter period of 2011, Panasonic reported a $499 million loss. Panasonic claims that their bottom line was hurt largely due the stalled production during the tsunami and curbed spending by consumers because of the consequences of the country’s crisis: tsunami, earthquake and nuclear plant accident.

The company currently has a work force of 3,80,000 people worldwide, and the 40,000 odd lay offs are reported to start by this year and mainly effect those employees who are not located in Japan. It is also said that these job cuts will be the biggest among Japanese manufacturers.

Panasonic has already cut 15,000 jobs since the recession in 2008 and is expected to continue to downsize their work force till the end of March 2013.

However, after Nikkei broke the news about the 40,000 job cuts, Panasonic has seen its shares rise to as much as two percent which is its most in the last three weeks.

Source: Nikkei