Panasonic to cut 560 jobs, close Asian plants, Toshiba to close chip plants in Japan, STMicroelectronics posts loss, cutting 4,500 jobs...

TOKYO (AP) -- Panasonic Corp. said Wednesday it will cut 560 jobs in Asia due to the closure of two plants in the region, while declining to confirm a report saying the Japanese electronics giant will likely suffer its first net loss in six years. The world's largest maker of plasma television will shut down a factory in Malaysia and another plant in the Philippines to "cope with a rapid change in the global electronics market," said spokesman Akira Kadota.

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's No. 1 chipmaker, Toshiba Corp., will shut down several semiconductor plants at home to cope with a plunge in global demand for electronics goods, a report said Wednesday. Toshiba will also likely incur an operating loss of 200 billion yen ($2.2 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 2009, said the Asahi, a major Japanese daily, citing no sources.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Swiss chip maker STMicroelectronics NV said Tuesday it is cutting about 4,500 jobs worldwide after it posted a fourth-quarter net loss Tuesday, reversing a year-ago profit as revenue slipped amid the global economic turmoil. The job cuts represent about 9 percent of the Geneva-based company's work force.