Panasonic to cut 5000 jobs over 3 years

Struggling Japanese electronics giant Panasonic said Thursday it was aiming to cut about 5,000 jobs over three years in its automotive and industrial systems unit, following an eye-watering annual loss. The division, which makes everything from memory chips to car navigation systems, would reduce its existing workforce of about 111,000 people by March 2016, a company spokeswoman said. The job cuts came less than a month after Panasonic, which has cut about 20 percent of its total workforce in recent years, booked a 754.25 billion yen ($7.5 billion) net loss over the year to March. Panasonic, like key domestic rivals Sony and Sharp, has suffered in its television business where lower-costs foreign rivals proved tough competition, while its debt was inflated by the purchase of smaller rival Sanyo. Panasonic's job cuts are part of a wider industry overhaul aimed rescuing Japan's struggling electronics giants which have also suffered from strategic mistakes that left their finances in ruins. The company had a total of 293,742 employees as of March 31, according to Panasonic's website.