Report: Panasonic To Ship Workers To Tesla's Gigafactory

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)'s Gigafactory in Nevada will see hundreds of employees from Panasonic Corporation (OTC: PCRFY) arriving later this year, according to a report on Monday.

"We'll need hundreds of people at the start," Yoshio Ito, head of Panasonic's automotive and industrial systems , told reporters at a briefing on Monday according to Reuters.

"We should actually see that starting around the autumn," Ito said.

Under an agreement announced last year, Panasonic workers at the Nevada factory near Reno will manufacture lithium-ion cells and own the associated factory equipment.

Panasonic will then hand off the cells to Tesla workers at the plant, who will assemble battery modules and packs.

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Financial terms of the agreement weren't initially disclosed, although Tesla has said the factory will ultimately cost $5 billion, with Panasonic shouldering up to 40 percent of the investment.

Panasonic's Ito said Monday it will invest about $478 million through March in its automotive businesses, according to Reuters.

A part of that investment will go to Panasonic's partnership with Tesla and part to a joint venture with privately held Ficosa International SA that was disclosed last year.

Ficosa makes electronic systems that help drivers with blind-spot detection and parking.

The Tesla Gigafactory will produce cells, modules and packs for Tesla's electric vehicles and for the stationary storage market and will employ about 6,500 people by 2020, according to Tesla, which currently acquires batteries from Panasonic.