Panasonic announced earlier that it would startReform of the Group's Management PolicyIt will close or sell its low-profit business systems within 2025, and plans to close and reorganize its home appliance business within 2025. It may split its home appliances, air conditioners, lighting and other products into different independent companies.
Panasonic Group President Yuki Kusami said that currently, home appliances, conditioning appliances, industrial equipment, and electromechanical systems are listed as businesses with uncertain future growth status. Therefore, the plan is to discuss whether to close them or further resell them based on the business development situation, product projects, and operating areas.
As for its TV product business, Panasonic currently believes that even if it were to sell it, no other company would be willing to take it over. The reason is that the current competition in TV products is becoming saturated, and the current profits from TV products are not as good as before. Therefore, it may eventually choose to close the TV business, but it is still under discussion at this stage.
In the home appliance business, Panasonic stated that it will leverage the cost competitiveness of manufacturing in China to promote global development, and expects to strengthen cooperation and resource transfer with the Chinese market. It is expected that this will further streamline operations in Japan while improving operational efficiency. It also plans to move manufacturing production lines in Japan to China.
Furthermore, the home appliance business may be reorganized into an independent company under the name "Smart Life" (スマートライフ). The lighting business may be reorganized into an independent company under the name "Electric Works" (エレクトリック・ワークス). However, Kusunoki Kusami stated that the restructuring of the business is only an idea at this stage and no specific decision has been made yet.
However, when Panasonic recently applied to UL Solutions for safety and quality certification of electronic materials used in its home appliances, it was revealed that there was some falsification of relevant data, resulting in the revocation of the certification results of 10 electronic materials by UL Solutions. Although it subsequently emphasized that it would actively regain market trust and re-apply for certification, indicating that there would be no impact on its home appliance business, it seems that there may still be a certain degree of goodwill impact.
As for the slowdown in the electric vehicle market, Kusumio expects that there is still room for growth in automotive battery products, so he will continue to cooperate with automakers and expand investment in battery product development. He also plans to adjust costs and employment structures, and streamline operations in fiscal 2025, so that Panasonic can increase profits by approximately 2026 billion yen in fiscal 1500, and an additional 2028 billion yen in profits before fiscal 1500.
