Editor’s Note: The following article has been amended to include Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd (PMMA)’s response, and to provide clarity that the closures involve multiple entities under the Panasonic group, and not PMMA alone. The error is regretted.

In its latest statement, Panasonic reaffirms its commitment to continue investing in Malaysia.

Commuters on the Federal Highway, especially on the Shah Alam stretch, would find it hard to miss Panasonic Malaysia’s iconic factory along the expressway. 

Established in 1965 as Matsushita Electric Company Malaysia Bhd and renamed Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd (PMMA) in 2005, the Japanese firm employed more than 2,000 in multiple plants across Malaysia at its peak at the turn of the century.

However, the tides appear to be turning for the Panasonic group in Malaysia, which includes PMMA. Some Panasonic manufacturing plants and departments in Malaysia are soon to be shuttered, leaving hundreds of workers jobless, Malaysiakini has learnt.