Panasonic Corporation will shut down its factory in Thailand and move it to a newer and larger one in Vietnam as part of its consolidation plan, a company official told Thai Enquirer on Thursday.
About 800 Thai employees will be let go in the move, said Panasonic’s head of corporate communication Sirirat Yongcharoenchai.
The plant will shut down in October. An adjacent research and development centre will be shut down by March 2021.
Sirirat said the move was planned since November of last year and has nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have been planning this since November last year,” Sirirat told Thai Enquirer. “We wanted to improve our productivity and our efficiency via the consolidation. It has nothing to do with the current situation.”
Panasonic has 20 business units which include 10 factories in Thailand. The move means 2 units, the factory which has been operating since 1979 and its R&D arm, will be shut down.
This will leave Panasonic with 18 business units in Thailand which will continue to employ 13,700 people.
“The remaining business units will continue operations as normal,” Sirirat said.
