Panasonic Corp. will cut 50 jobs in April at a factory that makes solar ingots in Oregon amid slowing demand for photovoltaic panels in Japan.
The plant, which employs about 140 people, began reducing ingot production in January, a Panasonic spokeswoman said Friday.
The company plans to increase output once demand recovers, she said, declining to comment on the factory's capacity. The Oregon plant stopped producing wafers in June 2013, the spokeswoman said. Ingots are converted to wafers as part of the solar-panel manufacturing process.
Panasonic said earlier it will suspend production of solar cells and modules at a plant in Osaka from the end of this month.