Panasonic mulls lower headcount, unit sales, partnerships

US-CES-PANASONIC-RESTRUCTURE:Panasonic mulls lower headcount, unit sales, partnerships

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Japan's Panasonic Corp may see its headcount fall further and may sell non-core money-making business units to raise cash, president Kazuhiro Tsuga told reporters at the CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Hammered by competition from South Korean rivals such as Samsung Electronics, Panasonic may also squeeze wages and seek joint ventures in its semiconductors and other struggling operations in a bid to rekindle profit growth, Tsuga said.

The Panasonic chief said in an earlier keynote speech he would pursue strategies to expand business-to-business sales of car batteries, in-flight entertainment systems, hydrogen cells, solar panels and LED lighting.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Paul Tait)

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