Out-sourcing hits Welsh car speaker company

The owner of electronics giant Panasonic today announced plans to shut a UK factory after opting to switch production to Asia and Slovakia.

Matsushita Electric Industrial – Panasonic’s parent company – said the site at Port Talbot, South Wales, which employs 242 people in the manufacture of car speakers, would close by the end of the year.

The company said the operation, which serves European car makers, had suffered from “severe price declines” brought on by intense competition.