Panasonic CEO leaves with cash lined up for car batteries

Kazuhiro Tsuga, chief executive officer at Panasonic Corp, at the company's office in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, March 8,2021. After almost nine years as CEO at Panasonic, Tsuga says he is handing off a leaner business with enough cash to invest in new areas such as overseas manufacturing, upgraded battery technology for its partnership with Tesla Inc. and air-cleaning and conditioning.

TOKYO: After almost nine years as chief executive officer of Panasonic Corp, Kazuhiro Tsuga says he is handing off a leaner business with enough cash to invest in new areas such as overseas manufacturing, upgraded battery technology for its partnership with Tesla Inc and air-cleaning and conditioning.

Panasonic is embarking on a corporate revamp that will usher in automotive business head Yuki Kusumi as CEO from April, who will then spend a year reshaping the iconic electronics conglomerate into a holding company.