Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Wednesday it will discontinue production of refrigerator compressors at its U.S. unit on March 28.
The unit, Matsushita Refrigeration Co. of America (MARCA), will then begin closing and liquidation procedures, it said.
Matsushita, known for its Panasonic and National brand products, said it decided to close the U.S. compressor unit because U.S. refrigerator manufactures are accelerating moves to procure more parts from China and other locations in Asia.
Production of refrigerator compressors for the U.S. market will be shifted to Matsushita's factories in Singapore, Malaysia and China to further enhance the company's strategy of achieving an optimum global production structure in the region, the firm said.
Toshiba, ARM tie up
Major electronics maker Toshiba Corp. and Britain's ARM Holdings PLC have signed a licensing agreement under which the British firm will provide its core microprocessor technology to Toshiba, the two firms said Wednesday.
The license will allow Toshiba to manufacture a processor for wireless applications, including mobile phones and personal digital assistants.
Under the agreement, ARM Holdings, a leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor technology, will provide its ARM926EJ-S core processor to Toshiba.
"Mobile products are evolving to embrace such functions as image transmission. That requires de facto standard Java technology-based middle-ware. This license will allow us to easily offer Java technology . . . to our customers," said Shigeru Komatsu, general manager at Toshiba's Semiconductor Co.