February 12, 2009

Pioneer to cut jobs, shed flat-screen TVs

Japanese electronics giant Pioneer said it would cut 10,000 jobs and pull out of the flat-screen television business as sales have plummeted.

Once the world leader in flat-screen television production, the company said it has been affected significantly by dramatic changes in economic conditions since the fall of 2008.

Pioneer said it anticipated a record net loss for their fiscal year, which ends March 31. Although the company promised on-going service for sold items, it plans to terminate its display production business by March 2010, it said in a statement.

The company said it was beset by slumping sales. Lackluster auto demand has chipped away at its car electronics division, where revenues fell 28.4 percent in the third quarter from a year ago. Home electronics revenue fell 48.9 percent from a year ago, the company said, largely as a result of lower sales of plasma displays, DVD drives and audio products.

Display products sales made up 39 percent of the company's home electronics revenues, a drop from 42 percent a year ago.

The company's home electronics division lost $107.2 million in the third quarter due to lower sales and a shrinking profit margin in the television business, the company said.