Panasonic Corp. is in talks to sell off three semiconductor plants in Japan to Israeli chip-maker TowerJazz as part of restructuring efforts to jettison slumping operations, sources said Wednesday.
The major electronics maker will spin off the three plants in Toyama and Niigata prefectures into a new company and sell a majority stake to the Israeli firm, which makes chips on contract, the sources said.
Under the plan, most of the roughly 2,500 employees at the three plants will keep their jobs while some will be transferred to other Panasonic sections, the sources said. The value of the transaction will be determined after fleshing out the details.