A planned restructuring of Panasonic may see its production of solar panels, small lithium batteries and other products curtailed in response to low demand and low profitability, according to reports.
Two unnamed company sources quoted by Reuters suggest Panasonic may scale back plans to ramp up solar production to 1.5GW in a bid to revive the company.
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According to Reuters, Panasonic’s President Kazuhiro Tsuga has promised to set out plans to revive the Japanese company by the end of the current financial year, with loss-making or low-profit units likely to be targeted.
Earlier this year, Panasonic built a new 300MW PV factory in Malaysia intended to cut production costs by integrating all solar manufacturing processes under one roof. However, the company’s solar business has been affected by lower than expected demand from Europe.
Panasonic’s energy unit had set a target of raising sales to more than ¥1 trillion, 10% of company sales, but that now looks unlikely in light of the planned squeeze on production.
Panasonic is due to publish its results for Q3 2012 later this week.
