Being unprofitable for time has let Panasonic to stop manufacturing TV panels by the end of September 2016. This means only one Japanese company Sharp, is in the business of manufacturing TV panels.
According to a spokeswoman for the company, Panasonic has decided to stop manufacturing TV panels from their Hemeji factory located in western Japan. The manufacturing unit which started operations in 2010, was never profitable all these years because of stiff competition from South Korean and Chinese firms.
The factory will now continue to manufacture vehicle dashboards and medical equipment, but it will be a major hit to the production of the unit. Here it should be noted that some Panasonic televisions already use panels from rival manufacturers such as South Korea’s LG Display Co Ltd.
Many Japanese companies are struggling to grapple with the stiff competition they are facing from South Korean and Chinese companies and this has been evident in the last couple of years. Panasonic has also fallen a prey to that.
Moreover, many global companies are now looking at India as their manufacturing base due to the rising labour costs in China. In Japan labour costs has always been in the higher side.
By Atanu Kumar Das
