Panasonic Corp. plans to eliminate about 1,000 positions — two-thirds of the division for in-house information system development — on July 1, according to sources.
The struggling electronics maker is considering transferring some 500 workers each to business partners Fujitsu Ltd. and IBM Japan Ltd., while selling Panasonic Information Technology Solutions Co. to Fujitsu, the sources said Wednesday. It plans to request the transfer on condition it outsources most of its intranet development and security operations to the two companies.
Having incurred massive net losses over the past two years, Panasonic is trying to outsource unprofitable businesses to other firms. Last year, it announced plans to sell its health care business unit to U.S. investment fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and sell its money-losing chip business to Israel's Tower Semiconductor Ltd.