Japan-based Panasonic Corp. will close its solar cell factory in Hungary and lay off the plant's approximately 500 employees in March 2014. The facility will cease production in September.
According to a Bloomberg report, a Panasonic spokesperson said the closure is an effort to consolidate production, and equipment from the Hungary plant will be moved to manufacturing facilities in Japan and Malaysia. The spokesperson also said Panasonic plans to maintain its module production capacity at 900 MW annually.
In June, Panasonic stopped solar wafer production at its plant in Oregon, but the company continues to manufacture silicon ingots at the facility.
