24 hours after Toshiba announced that they were getting out of the TV manufacturing business Panasonic has confirmed that they have closed their China based TV manufacturing plant.
The plant was used to manufacture budget TV’s for Panasonic but not the Companies popular premium 60+ TV’s.
Panasonic said that they have stopped making televisions in China because of severe price competition and slowing market growth around the world including in the Australian market. The Company said that their Shandong Province plant of which they own 80% will close down immediately.
Several hundred employees are likely to be dismissed by March 2015 a Panasonic spokesperson said.
Panasonic has recorded TV losses for six straight years, the Japanese company is also considering selling its TV factory in Mexico.
Last year Panasonic who were credited with making the “Best” plasma TV’s in the world quit the plasma market altogether.
Sharp also plans to scale back its TV operation because of losses.
Its TV factories in Japan, Europe and Southeast Asia will continue to operate as they focus on high-end products that are more profitable the Company said.
Panasonic has recently been taking steps to diversify its operations, including investing in a new lithium-ion battery factory of Tesla Motors electric motor vehicle.
The Company has stressed that the consumer electronics remains a crucial business for Panasonic.
