Panasonic to exit 'unprofitable' plasma TV manufacturing by next year

Panasonic Corp. has announced that it will stop manufacturing plasma televisions at the end of this fiscal year in March, over huge losses and competitiveness of rival liquid crystal TVs.

The struggling Japanese electronics maker is aiming accelerate the streamlining of its loss-making business.

However, in March, Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga had said that the firm would not end plasma display TV operations despite the drag on earnings, the Japan Times reports.

Sources revealed that the company will sell the buildings at its Amagasaki No. 3 factory in Hyogo Prefecture by the end of this year and allocate the funds to growing fields such as auto- and housing-related operations.

The report said that workers involved in the plasma display business will be reassigned to other areas.