Pioneer out of the plasma game

The Japanese electronics manufacturer has announced it will cease production of its television sets by March 2010 to focus on its car electronics and home theatre products instead. The company will start to wind down manufacturing its LCD and plasma televisions, but it will come at a cost – the firm expects to cut about 10,000 jobs as a result. Approximately 6000 full time and 4000 part-time jobs will be eliminated.The news comes as Vizio announced it will cease production of its plasma screen televisions to focus on LCD panels.

The move leaves just three major companies – Panasonic, LG and Samsung – as the market’s largest plasma television manufacturers.