Panasonic to halt in-house production of TVs

OLED TV: Panasonic TX-55JZ1500B
(Image credit: Panasonic / Nine Perfect Strangers, Amazon Prime)

Panasonic will no longer produce TVs in-house at its factory in the Czech Republic according to a report from FlatpanelsHD.

The company will continue to develop and release new TV models under the Panasonic name in 2022, but production will be outsourced to an as yet un-named external partner.

The brand's higher-end models, including LCDs and OLEDs, have continued to be made at its Pilsen facility, which was established in 1996 and employs around 1000 people. The site will reportedly be scaled back but continue to produce video products such as Blu-ray players.

In a statement to FlatpanelsHD, Panasonic said, "this week we have received the information internally that we will move the production of our future TV models from the factory in the Czech Republic to an external partner.

“We will continue our investment in TV and offer many new models in 2022, and all product development in both Japan and in Europe (Langen, Germany) will continue. We guarantee that we will continue to have competitive models and the best picture quality. The only difference is that our future TV models are assembled in another factory".

Read our five-star review of the Panasonic DP-UB820EB Blu-ray player

Mary is a staff writer at What Hi-Fi? and has over a decade of experience working as a sound engineer mixing live events, music and theatre. Her mixing credits include productions at The National Theatre and in the West End, as well as original musicals composed by Mark Knopfler, Tori Amos, Guy Chambers, Howard Goodall and Dan Gillespie Sells.