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Panasonic Projection TV Assembly Plant To Close

Hurt by the popularity of flat-panel televisions, Vancouver, Wash., plant will close and lay off its remaining 89 workers.

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — The Panasonic projection TV assembly plant in Vancouver, Wash., will lay off its last 89 workers and close up shop March 29, hurt by the rising popularity and falling prices of flat-panel televisions.
 
Panasonic Shikoku Electronics Corp. of America on Monday told workers it will offer severance and health insurance based on years of service.
 
The plant was opened in 1986 by America Kotobuki to make TVs and VCRs. The Japanese company, later called Matsushita Kotobuki Electronics before it became Panasonic, employed 460 people at its peak in 2001.
 
The plant had already made significant cuts to its work force, including a 2006 round of layoffs that left 100 employees on the payroll.
 
Panasonic is negotiating a buyout of its lease of 300,000 acres from the Port of Vancouver.
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