The article states they will announce Thursday (2-12) if there will be a change in direction, to quote:

There are multiple reports from Japan indicating electronics giant Pioneer may end its flat screen TV business due to slowing demand and the struggling global economy.

"We have publicly announced that we are actively evaluating our business," Pioneer said in a public statement. "We started announcing changes in March 2008 to increase efficiencies of our business operations. We are still in that process but do not have any further announcements at this time."

If the company does indeed pull the plug on its TV lineup, the official announcement is expected on Thursday, when Pioneer announces its medium-term business plans. The company first announced last March it would stop making plasma panels due to increasing losses and higher costs.

Panasonic had control of the plasma TV market with 37 percent, Samsung Electronics had 22.8 percent, LG Electronics secured 15 percent, while Pioneer had just 5.9 percent, DisplaySearch numbers reveal.

Pioneer has already cut hundreds of jobs and closed one domestic manufacturing plant last year, with more job cuts planned in the future, Japanese media sources report. The company currently has 40,000 employees and may cut as many as 5,000 by March 2010.

In addition to ending its TV business, Pioneer may also enter a joint venture with Sharp in an attempt to spin off its DVD player business as well.

Japanese electronics companies have struggled as of late, with Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and other companies having difficulty selling products.



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