OSAKA – Panasonic Corp. envisions eliminating some 600 jobs related to the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries for personal computers and other consumer electronics gadgets, sources said Tuesday.

The number is equivalent to some 20 percent of the company’s workforce in this sector, the sources said.

The cutbacks are designed to improve dwindling profitability stemming from lower prices and stronger competition from South Korean firms such as Samsung Electronics, they said.

Panasonic will increase its production capacity for lithium-ion batteries for use in consumer electronics mainly in China, while putting greater emphasis domestically on the batteries for use in automobiles.