TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Electronics maker Panasonic Corp, hit by a firmer yen and slumping sales, is urging its 10,000 managers and directors in Japan to each buy at least 100,000 yen ($1,097) worth of its products to shore up sales.
The move comes after Toyota Motor Corp said last month its 2,200 general managers may buy Toyota cars by the end of the current business year on March 31 in a voluntary effort to help minimise its earnings deterioration. Panasonic, the world's largest plasma TV maker, is asking its managers in Japan to buy 100,000 yen worth or more of Panasonic products by July, while directors are being urged to make purchases of at least 200,000 yen, a spokesman said on Friday.
On electronics retailer Bic Camera Inc's web site, Panasonic's Blu-ray disc recorder with a 250-gigabyte hard disk drive is offered for 98,500 yen while its Lumix L10 single-lens reflex camera with a lens is sold for 124,900 yen.
Panasonic, formerly known as Matsushita Electric, warned last week it would post an annual net loss of 380 billion yen ($4.2 billion) for this business year and said it would cut about 15,000 jobs as it grapples with a widening recession. ($1=91.12 Yen) (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Michael Watson)