Panasonic to announce losses over $3 billion

We reported last week that Panasonic was cutting several jobs in Asia. That was the what, today brings the why. On Wednesday, Panasonic is expected to announce a net 300 billion yen ($3.36 billion) loss for the business year that ends in March. The loss will be Panasonic’s first since 2001.

The loss is attributed to “streamlining” manufacturing operations and valuation losses on its stock. Panasonic is not the only Japanese electronics company hurting in this economy. Hitachi, Toshiba, Sony, and Sharp are all expected to announce losses for the year. Pretax profits from the group are expected to fall by more than 12 trillion yen ($133.5 billion), a 24.5 percent fall. These number show the global scale of this current recession.

Read [Japan Times]