South Korean media: Unable to compete with Chinese enterprises, Panasonic plans to cut 10,000 jobs! On May 28th, South Korean media "Global Economy" published an article stating that Japanese Panasonic Holdings Corporation plans to carry out large-scale business restructuring in multiple businesses including consumer appliances and cut about 10,000 jobs globally. This Japanese electronics giant plans to streamline its operations by divesting underperforming departments to regain lost market share and alleviate pressure from Chinese competitors. Panasonic said it plans to cut approximately 10,000 jobs within the fiscal year ending in March 2026, integrate sales and back-end operations, shrink or abandon underperforming businesses, and offer early retirement to employees of its domestic group companies. However, the announcement did not specifically mention which businesses will be reduced. Panasonic has been struggling with low profitability for many years. Over the past five years, its annual operating profit margin has ranged between 3.4% and 5.0%, far behind domestic Japanese rivals such as Sony Group and Hitachi. Under the impact of high-quality products from Chinese competitors like Haier Group and Midea Group, Panasonic finds it difficult to maintain market share in Japan and Southeast Asia in representative consumer appliances such as refrigerators and microwave ovens. In addition, Panasonic faces other challenges such as possible tariffs on its North American supply chain by the U.S. and a sluggish electric vehicle market. As Tesla's main electric vehicle battery supplier, Panasonic's battery business is also affected by Tesla's weak sales. Television business is one of the products that have seen a significant drop in market share in recent years. In a press conference in February, Panasonic President Yuki Kusumi said, "If necessary, we are prepared to sell the television business." Panasonic, which sells products ranging from welding equipment to production management software, has been striving to transform its corporate group into a profitable enterprise. Companies like Hitachi and Sony have succeeded by entering the energy, digital technology, and entertainment sectors, while Panasonic's unclear business focus has been criticized. Panasonic plans to bring positive impacts exceeding 300 billion yen to the group's profitability by the end of March 2029 through these reforms and cost-cutting measures. Amidst the loss of competitiveness of Japan's home appliance industry due to global offensives by Chinese and Korean enterprises, this reorganization is interpreted as Panasonic's effort for survival. The company's strategy is to improve profitability by cleaning up non-core businesses and focusing on environmentally friendly technologies and solution businesses with growth potential. [Image: //p3-sign.toutiaoimg.com/tos-cn-i-ezhpy3drpa/880bed36d65e4ef08384b2afbef101ed~tplv-obj:1920:1080.image?_iz=97245&bid=15&from=post&gid=1833367901397056&lk3s=06827d14&x-expires=1756166400&x-signature=y3TxybaF%2FRnHuh%2FHAkzrHq5LoCk%3D] Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1833367901397056/ Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.