Panasonic Corp. announced as an effort to restructure its business it will no longer be manufacturing plasma display panels (PDP) by Dec. 2013. Business operations in three Amagasaki factories will be eventually terminated. Amagasaki P3 Factory has already stopped production, while Amagasaki P5 factory has already suspended operations. The Amgasaki P4, which is still operating will be closed down by end of March 2014.

The company will end sales of plasma TVs for consumers and PDP related products for commercial use, such as Interactive Plasma Displays for Financial Year 2014 (ending March 31, 2014). In the display panel business, Panasonic has been promoting the development of non-TV applications and has carried out various restructuring measures, such as reduction of fixed costs, for both PDP and LCD panels. The company expects the restructure can help it optimize business and focus its management resources.

Panasonic's is rumored to focus its resources on developing 4K UHD TV after exiting the  LCD market.  (LEDinside/ Panasonic)

The company which began promoting its PDP business in 2000 had a market strategy that was focused on utilizing PDP for large displays and LCD for small-and medium-sized displays. However, the company cited rapid development in large-screen LCDs and in the face of severe price competition in the global market onset by the Lehman Shock in Sept. 2008, the company consolidated production in the Amagasaki P4 Factory and made a shift towards commercial applications to improve earnings. 

According to a report by OLED Info, the company will be focusing resources on OLED and UHD TV manufacturing in the future.