Panasonic will halve the number of recruitment agencies it uses by thesummer to cut down on costs, the company’s HR director has told Personnel Today.
Richard Mills said the 20 agencies currently used to hire new staff would be cut to no more than 10, beginning in late May, to save money during the recession.
He said: “We’re improving all aspects of the HR offering, which will hopefully provide a road-map that we can follow for a few years.”
Mills added that he had recently switched to a new health-care provider which offeredstaff better benefits and was on trackto save 40% in costs.
“There’s no point in having a benefits strategy and policies on travel, expenses and private health if it’s not helping us attract or retain employees,” he said.
“Our switch [of provider] is as much about improving quality as it is cutting costs.”
Panasonic employs more than 325,000 worldwide, but earlier this year it announced it would cut 15,000 jobs globally by March 2010, with 50 jobs expected to go in Cardiff.
Mills refused to comment on the job cuts, but concededthat one role in his 27-strong team had been axed already.
