Panasonic Corp. will cut 50 jobs in April at a factory that makes solar ingots in Oregon amid slowing demand for photovoltaic panels in Japan.
The plant, which employs about 140 people, began reducing ingot production in January, a Panasonic spokeswoman said Friday.
The company plans to increase output once demand recovers, she said, declining to comment on the factory¡¯s capacity. The Oregon plant stopped producing wafers in June 2013, the spokeswoman said. Ingots are converted to wafers as part of the solar-panel manufacturing process.
Panasonic said earlier it will suspend production of solar cells and modules at a plant in Osaka from the end of this month.
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