Panasonic is closing its manufacturing plant in eastern Slovakia. Panasonic AVG Networks Slovakia is one of the country’s largest employers. At its peak, its Krompachy plant had 1,200 employees. However, cost-cutting measures over the years have reduced the staff to a mere 656. The Japanese company recently decided to withdraw from Krompachy completely, as sale of the plant’s main products — Blu-Ray players and recorders, DVD recorders and parts for TVs — has fallen by 50 percent over the last five years. The production volume has been dropping since 2009, and the plant is currently on the verge of a loss, writes eTrend.sk. The company will lay off the 656 staff by the end of the year and move some of its production activity across the Czech border to its plant in Pilsen.
