TOKYO: Panasonic Corp plans to dramatically cut back on chipmaking, slashing the business's 14,000-strong workforce by half and possibly selling some plants, the Nikkei said Japanese companies are spinning off their chipmaking operations as profit margins shrink, mainly due to stiff competition from South Korea, the paper said.
The move underlines Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga's determination to weed out weak operations as he focuses on higher-margin products to end years of losses at the consumer electronics conglomerate.