Panasonic to axe 15,000 workers

[Doctor No NWO]

Panasonic to axe 15,000 workers
By North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy

Posted Wed Feb 4, 2009 7:22pm AEDT

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic has announced it is cutting 15,000 jobs and shutting 27 plants around the world.

The company has been hit hard by the global economic crisis, staring at a $6.5 billion annual loss as consumers cut their spending on electronic goods.

Panasonic says it now plans to close one-fifth of its plants around the world and of the 15,000 jobs half will be from factories in Japan.

Panasonic's announcement is the latest in a string of bad news for Japanese electronics giants, with Sony, NEC, and Hitachi already planning to cut 43,000 workers.