Panasonic May Cut Mobile Unit, Post Writedown: Sources

Panasonic Corp may shrink its mobile phone unit by withdrawing from Europe within six months, prompting a possible writedown on the business in the year ending next March 31, two sources told Reuters.

Panasonic's new boss, Kazuhiro Tsuga, has pledged to revive the company by cutting money-losing or barely profitable businesses. He has said he will announce a restructuring plan by the end of March.

The company has as much as 70 billion yen ($873 million) of goodwill on its mobile phone business, according to analysts' estimates, after the 2002 purchase

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