Panasonic cuts manufacturing, pushes sales

However, the world's largest plasma TV maker said it also aims to boost its flat TV unit sales by 50% next business year to cement its position, though rivals such as No. 2 Samsung Electronics and third-ranked LG Electronics are also targeting bold growth.

Weakening economies around the world have been eating into demand for flat TVs, digital cameras and other electronics products, with Hitachi - Japan's top electronics maker - expecting to miss its LCD TV sales target by as much as 10% in 2008/09.

Panasonic, which changed its name from "Matsushita Electric" last year, had said in November it would need to restructure to weather a downturn that has already forced Sony and other rivals to shutter plants and cut jobs.

The company said on Friday it would cut investment through 2012 on two flat TV plants under construction in Japan's Hyogo prefecture, near Osaka, by 135 billion yen (US$1.5 billion) to 445 billion yen ($4.93 billion).

"We will aim for a bigger growth than the industry as we cope with a slowdown in the market," Panasonic president Fumio Ohtsubo told a briefing. "We will carefully follow the market trend; we hope to win the cut-throat competition. We will not consider the planned cut in investment as a negative move."

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