Panasonic to cut 5,000 jobs over three 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.