Panasonic said yesterday said that it would cut 560 jobs in Asia because of the closure of some plants in the region, but declined to comment on a report saying the Japanese electronics giant will suffer its first net loss in six years.

Panasonic Corp is likely to report an annual net loss of about 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion) on restructuring charges, weak demand for consumer electronics and the effects of the strong yen, the Nikkei business daily said without citing sources. It would be the first net loss in six years for the company, formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd.

Panasonic also plans to close three plants, including two of its three plants that make electronics parts in Malaysia. The third plant to be closed is in the Philippines. Panasonic spokesman Kunio Ichikawa said the company will announce its quarterly results on February 4, which may or may not include a revision to its earnings outlook.

About 500 workers at the Malaysian electronics parts plant in Malacca will be out of work, while some 60 employees at the Philippines battery factory also will lose their jobs, according to another company spokesman.

Panasonic also runs two electronics parts plants in the central Malaysia state of Selangor, which would be merged them into one by September. He but that added the move would not result in job losses.

The closures come as Panasonic is in the middle of a $9 billion takeover of smaller Japanese rival Sanyo Electric to become one of the world's biggest electronics companies.

Panasonic had forecast a 10 per cent rise in net profit to 310 billion yen at the start of the fiscal year on April 1 after a record profit of 280 billion yen a year earlier. It lowered its net profit projection to by as much as 90 per cent to 30 billion yen in November as the global economic downturn accelerated.

Panasonic's operating profit is also likely to suffer a worse fall than the 35 per cent drop to 340 billion yen the company forecast in November, the Nikkei said. This would reflect falling demand for semiconductors and electronics parts and worsening margins on the flat-panel TVs that have driven earnings in recent years, it said. Panasonic is the world's largest maker of plasma TVs.

The Malacca factory, which makes film capacitors used in mobile phones, will be shuttered in March, while the plant in the state of Selangor, which makes switches for audiovisual equipment, will be closed in September, the Nikkei said. The third plant to be closed is a Philippine facility that produces 12 million manganese dry-cell batteries a year for the local market.

Panasonic said earlier this month it would cut its investment in two new flat-screen TV plants by about $1.5 billion and exit unprofitable businesses as the global economic slump slices into its profits.

Evaporating demand for flat TVs, digital cameras and other electronics products has forced rival Sony Corp to forecast a record annual operating loss and Samsung Electronics Co to book its first-ever quarterly loss.