Tokyo – Japanese consumer electronics maker Panasonic
(Matsushita) announced on Thursday that it will lay off 17,000 employees over
the next two years, as part of a cost-cutting initiative that will cost about
$2 billion.
The company, which counts a total of around 367,000 employees, said
the layoffs will help eliminate redundancies created by its acquisitions of
Sanyo Electric and Panasonic Electric Works this year.
The company also cited
difficulties created by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March
11.
Panasonic expects the restructuring to increase its annual operating
profits by $735 million.
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(N.Y. Times)
