Japanese tech company Panasonic cuts 4% of its global workforce as profits falter
early retirement offers
in Japan and closures and consolidation of various operations, according to the Osaka-based maker of home appliances, such as washing machines and refrigerators.
Panasonic also makes solar panels, delivery robots, facial recognition technology, fuel cells for homes and EV batteries for Tesla cars.
Also Friday, Panasonic reported a 17.5% drop in profit for the fiscal year through March at 366 billion yen ($2.5 billion), down from 443 billion yen in the previous fiscal year. It sales totaled 8.46 trillion yen ($58 billion), down 0.5% year-on-year.
The company said the slowing global economy and weaker demand for electric vehicles were a factor behind its weak results. But sales of air-conditioners and consumer electronics products held up in Japan, it said.
The company's chief executive, Yuki Kusumi, told reporters his heart felt heavy in announcing the job cuts. Panasonic did not mention US President Donald Trump's tariff policies as a factor behind its drop in profit.
Panasonic forecast that its profit will improve by at least 150 billion yen ($1 billion) by the fiscal year through March 2027, and by 300 billion yen ($2.1 billion) by the fiscal year through March 2029.
That will be achieved through management reform, closure of unprofitable businesses and building a system that's more responsive to changes in the business environment, officials told reporters.
But the turnaround will take time and profit will slip further in this fiscal year. For the fiscal year through March 2026, Panasonic is projecting a 310 billion yen ($2.1 billion) profit on 7.8 trillion yen ($54 billion) sales.
Panasonic said it remains bullish about EV batteries and plans to supply Japanese automakers Mazda Motor Corp and Subaru Corp in new strategic partnerships.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scroll.in
11 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
Business stories: How OON, a women-led integrated marketing communications collective, was founded
As a child of the 1970s, I grew up in a typical middle-class Indian family. We had limited exposure and access to the world, without the internet and mobile phones, making life much simpler, with fewer distractions. At barely the age of 11, I used to keep a scrapbook of ads that I liked, cut from Sunday's glossy supplements and magazines brought home by Dad. I was fascinated and intrigued by the snappy headlines, bright colours and pretty pictures. While no one at home knew about advertising as a profession, I was convinced that this was what I wanted to do. I was my 'academically inclined' mother's worst nightmare. My two older sisters were conscientious about their studies while I played truant. When I scored 83 per cent in my main subjects in my 10th boards, my mother was in utter disbelief. She thought I could be her doctor or engineer daughter. But I chose to study commerce, as it had the thinnest textbooks. To my mom's surprise, I got admission into the only college in Hyderabad that offered (Hons), after ranking fourth in the competitive entrance exam, and she started hoping that I may become a chartered accountant. But I was set on writing ads. Unfortunately, Osmania University did not offer advertising as a subject. I asked Mom if I could go to Bombay for my further studies, only to get a ferocious scowl and an earful about 'I could go wherever after I got married'. Fortunately, fate intervened. My sister, who married someone from Indore, figured that Devi Ahilya University offered a post-graduate diploma in advertising and public relations. After reassurances from my sister and brother-in-law that I would be under strict supervision, my mom let me go. I went on to win a Gold Medal, making my mom proud, and thaw a little towards advertising. My first job was as a trainee copywriter with Rahul Jain's Swift Advertising (later acquired by Percept) in Indore. I got access to some of the best advertising books and my first computer here. 18 months later, I got an offer from Uxhur. A 50 per cent increment and the opportunity to work in a Bombay-based agency made me leave Rahul bhai's agency. In less than a year, this agency ran into trouble due to massive financial mismanagement, leaving me scared and without a salary for months. An advertising veteran was appointed to clean up the mess. He started by shutting down unprofitable branches while keeping the promising ones running. When he arrived in Indore, I didn't know if I would have a job by the time he left. This CEO was Jameel Gulrays. He saw the eagerness and genuine effort of the team (Ashish, Mridul, Juhi, and me) and signed off on keeping the branch running. I was elevated to the post of the branch head. Just twenty-two years old and petrified, I refused to take this up, but Jameel egged me on by simply saying, 'You'll learn. I'll guide you.' Soon, our work relationship transformed into a soul connection. At work, I was in awe of him, overwhelmed by his knowledge and celebrity status in advertising. At a personal level, Jameel's brutal honesty had me starry-eyed, as I had never met anyone so fearless with the truth. But to a very young and naïve me, this choice was a hard battle. Our relationship defied every conventional, Indian societal norm – age, religion, culture, marital status, work dynamics – everything incendiary that could burn us both at multiple levels. Yet, I chose him. What followed is a story for a five-season OTT series. But finally, in January 1997, I was in Bombay, the city of my dreams, the mecca of advertising. After 45 days of a frantic job search, I landed one with Chaitra Leo Burnett as a copywriter, on P&G's Ariel. I quit after a short stint to move to Ammirati Puris Lintas (now Lowe) as a bilingual (English and Hindi) writer on Unilever's Clinic Plus, Clinic All Clear, and later Nihar. After two years of writing hair commercials, I moved to Triton, where I was writing copy for everything from a vacuum cleaner to engine oil, to cooking oil, to chai and more. When Jameel's MSME clients started requesting end-to-end execution in addition to advertising strategy, we set up Versatile Communications to provide print, film, radio production, events, media buying – everything communications. However, in November 2003, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. My second sister and I were primary caregivers, as she underwent treatment, first in Pune, then in Mumbai's Tata Cancer Hospital. The still-new Versatile Communications took a back seat, affecting business. Mom passed away in February 2005. With my finances at an all-time low, I was adamant about returning to the safety of a job and a regular salary, even as Jameel wanted us to re-energise Versatile. I applied for jobs in both advertising and PR firms. The quickest response came from PR consultancies, with my first interview at IPAN (now Burson). The meeting with Radhika Shapoorjee went like a breeze. At the age of thirty-five, I marked my entry into the world of PR. Baptism by fire would be an understatement about my introduction to PR. Monsanto, Lifebuoy, Fair and Lovely, and CRY were my clients. On day one at work, I got a call a couple of hours into the job with a client asking me to send him an updated media list. My senior-most team member said, 'Chill boss, I'll send it.' Within 30 minutes, I got a call from a now furious client, yelling about how we sent him an outdated list. I was convinced this thing called the media list was a troublemaker! Nothing we did as far as the said client went was right. Things weren't any better with the other clients. I seemed to be constantly in the GM's room, seeking help. By the end of month three, I broke down and told my boss I didn't know how to cope. He shrugged and said, 'If you can't handle it, quit.' The next working day, I told my team we would never again walk into the GM's room asking for help. My copy and advertising background helped me look at PR beyond media relations, and we went on to create some of the biggest campaigns, many firsts, and stellar work that set an example in Unilever and the consultancy. And I never did seek help from my boss again. This happened because I decided to take complete charge of my team and clients to move ahead. When I moved to Corporate Voice Weber Shandwick in February 2012, my primary task was to help retain and grow the P&G mandate. Thanks to Atul Ahluwalia, I learnt the art of writing award entries here. My work on P&G's Gillette and Vicks, alongside campaigns Thank You Mom and Project Shiksha, picked up my first haul of seven SABRE Awards. There was no looking back. I then joined 2020 MSL, Mumbai, as general manager in September 2013. The challenge of building a consumer practice in a B2B tech consultancy was just what I needed. Glenn Osaki, the then president of MSL APAC, called me one day in early April 2017 and said, 'Rekha, you have created what very few professionals ever get an opportunity to create, or can only dream of creating.' This was the week after the Vicks Touch of Care campaign went viral and became a global conversation in advertising and PR circles. This film featured Gauri Sawant, a transgender activist. After we won the pitch for Vicks in September 2016, the campaign was to go live in the next quarter. However, demonetisation derailed the launch, and the beautiful film got canned. In March 2017, Prachi Partagalkar from Publicis Singapore called and said, 'Rekha, we've created a beautiful film, and we think this is worthy of Cannes. But with no budgets, all the big plans have been shelved. Is it possible for you to help us with some support, just a press release to A&M media, so we can at least back the entry with some coverage?' I asked her to send me the film to explore what could be done. One look at the film and intuitively, I knew we could do something big with it. While my business sense said, no money, no time, the creative devil in me just could not let this go. We devised a strategy to not just reach out to the A&M media but also pitch the story to general news channels and publications. The team frowned and said, 'But they just want A&M!' But they knew me well enough not to argue, so Shubhangi Chaturvedi and Amala Hosagrahar went about doing what was asked. This was the year the Supreme Court case for decriminalisation of Article 377 was nearing its close. If we went ahead with the plan to talk to consumer media, the first task was to get Gauri Sawant to trust us enough to agree to be the media face of the campaign. The risk: she was not a trained spokesperson. She could be high-strung and emotional. And as a transgender activist, she could be easily drawn into a conversation on Article 377, completely derailing the messaging and the intent of our campaign. I spent a full day at her home, in the slums of Malad (a suburb of Mumbai), sitting on her cot, chatting with her and her chelaas (followers), eating and drinking with them. At the end of the day, she hugged me and said she would work with me. With Gauri on board, we took Publicis' Ajay Trivikraman and Prachi Partagalkar into confidence. We took Ritu Mittal, the marketing lead for Vicks in India, through our plan, covering bases for the brand in a politically, ideologically, religiously, and socially divided India. Every negative scenario and the brand's response was thrashed out. A strong backstory was put in place, focusing on 'where there is care, there is family'. Gauri passionately expounded our message, 'motherhood knows no gender'. We had a narrative that captured the mind, and a film that stole hearts. Within twenty-four hours of our well-planned interviews, our phone started ringing non-stop for a story with Gauri. Four days later, a very excited Prachi called me and said, 'Congratulations, Rekha. You guys did it. The Vicks film has gone viral.' I thought I misheard the 'you guys did it' part. So Prachi repeated, 'No. I mean PR has made the campaign viral. We could not activate YouTube due to some glitch. We are just 72 hours into the campaign and already have four million views.' As it hit me, I screamed out to my team, 'Guys, Vicks has gone viral because of PR.' We drove stories with top global media – NPR, CNN, the ad being played at the UN-New York Times Women in the World Summit in front of world leaders like Justin Trudeau and Hillary Clinton. Gauri featured on the show Kaun Banega Crorepati and more such opportunities ensured that Vicks swept every award that year. By the time I left, 2020 MSL was a strong consumer and brand PR firm, along with being a B2B tech specialist. My proudest moment was when 2020 MSL was listed in Campaign Brief Asia's 2020 Asia Creative Rankings as one of the hottest creative consultancies in Asia alongside advertising and creative agencies, and as one of the top twenty of India's hottest firms. My greatest gratification is also when marketing leaders redirect budgets to PR, recognising its superior returns. My next move as the managing director of Zeno India happened just before the global COVID-19 shutdown. As I navigated the highs and lows of the pandemic and post-pandemic years, I set up a robust technology practice, with my trusted partner and friend Ketan Pote joining me from 2020 MSL. While I enjoyed my job, I missed active consumer brand work and campaign creation work for corporates and brands. So, I inched out of Zeno, to create my next big – Oon, a British dialectal for 'one'. This is arguably the world's first women's collective providing integrated marketing solutions. If there is ever an epitaph written for me, I would like it to read: 'Here lies a woman who defined her life with unconventional choices and worked passionately to prove these were the best.'
Mint
11 minutes ago
- Mint
What is behind Perplexity's $34.5 billion bid for Google Chrome
Google hasn't put Chrome up for sale, but antitrust proceedings could force its parent, Alphabet, to look for buyers. While Perplexity wants Chrome for its access to over 3 billion users and dominance in the artificial intelligence (AI) search race, OpenAI is also interested. Mint decodes the bids for the world's most popular browser. 1) Why is Perplexity interested in acquiring Chrome? AI-powered web search engine Perplexity wants Chrome because it's the gateway to over 3 billion users and the dominant player in the AI search race. Chrome underpins Google's search empire, and owning it would give Perplexity, co-founded by Indian-origin computer scientist Aravind Srinivas, direct access to user behaviour, search traffic, and advertising data. Perplexity's own AI browser, Comet, has only about 15 million monthly active users. Acquiring Chrome would catapult it into a leadership position. According to media reports, Perplexity is also in talks with smartphone makers to pre-install Comet on their devices. But buying Chrome would instantly hand it the world's largest browser, controlling the interface where AI-powered search meets the user. 2) Does Alphabet want to sell Chrome browser? Google hasn't announced any plans to sell Chrome. However, a US federal judge ruled in 2024 that the company illegally monopolized search, and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) is pushing for Chrome's divestiture as a remedy. Another judge is expected to rule this month, potentially ordering Google to break up its search business. Google has reportedly said it would appeal such an order, calling the idea of spinning off Chrome an 'unprecedented proposal" that would harm consumers and security. Proponents of a split argue that Chrome's integration with Google Search entrenches its dominance. If forced to sell, Google might comply to avoid harsher penalties or prolonged litigation. Interestingly, Perplexity's $34.5 billion bid is far below Chrome's estimated $50 billion market value. Perplexity itself is valued at around $18 billion. 3) How will Perplexity benefit from owning Chrome? Buying Chrome would give Perplexity a massive distribution channel for its AI-powered search engine. Instead of competing from the sidelines, it could embed its search engine directly into the browser experience. Perplexity has pledged to keep Google as the default search engine, but the real value lies in the data: browsing patterns, search behaviour, and ad interactions. This data fuels AI training and personalization. Additionally, Perplexity could monetize Chrome through advertising, partnerships, and premium AI features and get access to Chrome's engineering talent. 4) Who else is interested in buying Chrome—and why? OpenAI, Yahoo, and New York-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management have all expressed interest in acquiring Chrome if Google is forced to divest. OpenAI sees Chrome as a launchpad for an 'AI-first' browsing experience, integrating ChatGPT into the browser's core. OpenAI is also working on its own AI browser, but Chrome purchase will cut its time to market and access a global leader in the browser space. Yahoo wants to accelerate its search revival by skipping years of browser development. Apollo sees Chrome as a high-value asset with stable cash flows and strategic leverage. All contenders see Chrome as more than a web browser—it's a distribution engine for AI, search, and advertising. 5) Perplexity earlier tried to buy TikTok? What happened? In January, Perplexity offered to buy the US arm of TikTok. The short-video platform, owned by China's ByteDance, faces a September 2025 deadline to be sold or banned in the US. Perplexity proposed rebuilding TikTok's algorithm from scratch and integrating AI-powered fact-checking. It pledged to host infrastructure in the US data centres and ensure transparency. However, TikTok is in no hurry to sell, and Perplexity's offer was overshadowed by larger bidders such as Oracle and Microsoft. The bid eventually fizzled out, with some Reddit users dismissing it as a publicity stunt by the San Francisco-based startup. 6) How is AI reshaping the browser business? As a new generation of AI users turns to chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity for answers, browsers are becoming vital gateways to search traffic and user data—central to Big Tech's AI ambitions. For example, Copilot integrated within the Microsoft Edge browser acts as an AI companion users can interact with directly within the browser. AI is transforming browsers from passive tools into intelligent workspaces, summarizing articles, rewriting content, extracting data, and automating workflows. This shift improves productivity, speeds up research, and collaboration. Instead of juggling tabs and apps, users interact with a unified, intuitive interface that anticipates needs and improves focus. The browser is no longer just a gateway to the web — it's becoming an intelligent assistant for the users. Perplexity's Comet already offers AI features that perform tasks on behalf of the user. Acquiring Chrome would give it access to more than 3 billion users, boosting its ability to compete with giants like OpenAI. 7) What else could drive a potential sale of Chrome? Today, Chrome is not just a browser; it's a platform for AI integration, user data, and search monetization. Rivals like OpenAI and Perplexity are building AI-native browsers, while regulators see Chrome's dominance as a barrier to innovation. They want to prevent Google from extending its monopoly into AI-powered search. Selling Chrome could democratize access to browser-based AI, open up competition, and reshape how users interact with the web. Interestingly, Perplexity is also seen as an acquisition target with technology giants including Apple and Facebook-owner Meta, reportedly showing interest. In the coming weeks and months, expect the AI–browser convergence to grow beyond Perplexity's Chrome bid—potentially reshaping the internet's next chapter.
Mint
11 minutes ago
- Mint
Too small or too soon? Sonata, Happiest Minds follow Accenture, IBM; start segregating AI business revenue
Almost two years after Accenture Plc started quantifying business from AI, two small Indian information technology service companies have taken the lead in declaring or projecting revenue from the technology that has upended businesses globally. Analysts are divided over whether such disclosures are relevant or premature. Sonata Software Ltd, which entered the $1 billion club of local IT companies last year, provided an AI revenue estimate for FY28 that far exceeds levels that Accenture most recently disclosed. 'We expect AI-enabled services to contribute 20% of Sonata's revenue over the next three years, reflecting our strong market traction and focused execution," Samir Dhir, managing director and chief executive officer of Sonata Software, told analysts on 5 August. Sonata Software ended FY25 with $1.2 billion in revenue, up 15.5%. This translates to $160 million in incremental revenue. If the company adds a similar amount each year for the next three years, its revenue would touch $1.68 billion by FY28, of which about $330 million would be from AI. To be sure, the Bengaluru-based company aspires for $1.5 billion in revenue by FY26. An email sent to the company on Tuesday seeking comment on revenue goals was unanswered. Happiest Minds Ltd, which went public about five years ago, started revealing GenAI revenue in October 2023. It got $1.48 million, or 2.3% of its revenue, from the GenAI business vertical during April-June 2025, according to its Q1 report card. This marked a 12% sequential increase from the new technology. Bengaluru-based Happiest Minds' revenue jumped 24.2% to $243.6 million last fiscal. With this, both Sonata and Happiest Minds took a leaf from the books of Accenture, which is the world's largest IT outsourcer, and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM). Accenture, which started disclosing revenue from GenAI in the third quarter of FY23, got about 1 percent of its quarterly revenue from GenAI back then. Now, its share from GenAI has increased to about 4% of quarterly revenue. Accenture, IBM Accenture secured $1.5 billion in new GenAI bookings in the March-May 2025 period, which comprised almost 8% of its overall order bookings of $19.7 billion in the quarter. Its revenue from the new technology was $700 million. The Dublin-based company's revenue totalled $17.7 billion in the quarter, up 6% from the preceding quarter. Since September 2023, the company has taken its total tally of orders in GenAI to $7.1 billion. Peer IBM was not far behind. 'Our GenAI book of business now stands at over $7.5 billion, inception-to-date," Arvind Krishna, chairman and CEO of IBM, said in the company's earnings statement dated 23 July. IBM's business in the April-March period jumped 16.75% sequentially to $17 billion. Book of business refers to bookings and actual sales. The global AI market will soar from $189 billion in 2023 to $4.8 trillion by 2033 – a 25-fold increase in just a decade, according to a UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report in April 2025. AI could quadruple its share of the global frontier technology market, rising from 7% to 29% and emerge as the dominant force, ahead of the Internet of Things, blockchain and electric vehicles, UNCTAD said. India's largest IT services companies including Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Wipro Ltd, and Tech Mahindra Ltd have shied away from giving out AI revenue or projections. Although Mumbai-based TCS reported a GenAI deal pipeline of $900 million in April last year, it stopped doing so subsequently. At least one analyst said that revealing GenAI figures was a determinant of adoption of the technology by both the IT companies and their clients. 'IT companies first give out the number of employees upskilled, then the count of proof-of-concepts developed, and thereafter, the revenues generated," said Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, a partner at Catalincs, a tech growth advisory firm. Small contracts The practice of not stating revenue from GenAI is in contrast with 2015, when large IT outsourcers including TCS, Infosys and Wipro regularly put out revenue figures from digital businesses, then a buzzword for the IT industry and included work related to social, mobile, analytics, cloud, and the Internet of Things. As of now, each of the top five IT outsourcers states either the number of AI-led engagements they are working on or the number of AI agents that they are developing. Another analyst noted that smaller IT service companies give out GenAI revenue because their average contract sizes are small and business through the new technology becomes a bigger part of those contracts. 'A significant factor driving this divergence in behavior is that (AI) revenues occur in small-sized contracts and hence get lost in the larger players' huge traditional revenues. For smaller firms, these smaller AI contracts are much more significant as they are matched against much smaller average contract size and smaller base revenue. Hence when they call out their AI revenues it looks much more significant against the total," said Peter Bendor-Samuel, founder of Everest Group, a research firm. He added that larger tech service companies announce AI revenue only when there is something material. 'Investors are becoming sensitive to AI-washing. They feel it is better to only talk about AI and wait until there is material progress on the AI front before they post these numbers," said Bendor-Samuel. Ramamoorthy disagreed. 'As the adoption of AI—including GenAI, Agentic AI and Physical AI—becomes pervasive, IT companies will discontinue giving out these numbers as it will become the new way of delivering value to clients," said Ramamoorthy.
