Panasonic Corporation announced today that it will reduce its headcount by more than 10,000 employees worldwide, representing approximately four percent of its total staff. The cuts will be achieved through a combination of organizational consolidations merging sales and administrative functions and the closure of underperforming facilities. In Japan, roughly half of the positions will be eliminated, with affected workers eligible for early retirement packages.
A longtime supplier of batteries and other components to Tesla, Panasonic has already begun streamlining its automotive supply arm. Last December, it sold a large segment of its traditional auto parts business covering displays and interior modules to Apollo Global Management. With this restructuring, Panasonic intends to accelerate its pivot toward higher-margin energy and service offerings, such as data-center power solutions, industrial automation systems and software services.
The company’s device division, which includes its electric-vehicle battery operations, is expected to see a significant uplift in profitability as a result of the cost savings. Panasonic projects that these actions will boost its operating profit by at least ¥150 billion (around €917 million) over the next two fiscal years.
Panasonic currently employs just over 200,000 people worldwide. Most of the planned workforce reductions are slated to occur before the end of its current fiscal year on March 31, 2026, marking one of the largest restructurings in the company’s recent history.
