I have been saying for months that Nikon is not the only photo company in trouble. Panasonic just announced a big restructuring as profits sink and I am pretty sure this is just the beginning:
“Panasonic plans another round of restructuring of unprofitable businesses, responding to sinking profits with the same prescription that has restored the ailing giant to health before. Yet the company will need more than cutbacks to thrive in an electronics industry searching for new growth avenues as prices slide.”
The interesting part is that Panasonic is planning to dismantle their digital camera business and place it under the umbrella of other operations:
“Three other businesses units — digital cameras, private branch exchange telephone systems and optical disk drives — will be dismantled. Each will be scaled back and placed under the umbrella of other operations, with headcount to be reduced.”
Via Nikkei