Straight from the newsroom:

http://pioneer.jp/press/pdf/ir/080307_restructuring-e.pdf

For further information, please contact:
Investor Relations Department, Corporate Branding and Communications Division
Pioneer Corporation, Tokyo
Phone: +81-3-3495-6773 / Fax: +81-3-3495-4301
E-mail: pioneer_ir@post.pioneer.co.jp
IR Website: http://pioneer.jp/ir-e/
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For Immediate Release
March 7, 2008
Pioneer Announces Restructuring Plans for
its Display Business and Measures to Enhance Corporate Value
TOKYO — Pioneer Corporation has announced that at a meeting of its Board of Directors
held today, the Company resolved to restructure its display business and implement
measures to enhance corporate value, as follows.
I. Restructuring Plans for the Display Business
Displays are positioned at the heart of Pioneer’s home audio/video product lineup and
help to enhance the image of the Company’s brands in the Home Electronics business.
Pioneer believes that displays are indispensable to its product lineup for these reasons
and will therefore maintain its fundamental strategy for the display business—supply
premium models with high picture and sound quality befitting the image of its brands
at prices matching their added value, while optimizing the scale of its business.
However, we have judged that maintaining the cost competitiveness of plasma
display panels at projected sales volumes will be difficult going forward. Accordingly,
we have decided to terminate in-house plasma display panel production and to procure
these panels externally, after panel production for our next series of models is
complete. This move will allow us to transform our business model for displays from
vertically integrated, capital-intensive operations to a leaner business model geared to
making value-added product proposals. Pioneer is currently in discussions on the
feasibility of procuring panel modules that may incorporate the Company’s proprietary
technologies. Details will be announced as soon as they are finalized.
Pioneer plans to review its production structure in conjunction with the
termination of plasma display panel production and to streamline the entire display
business to a scale commensurate with sales. We aim to compensate for cutbacks in
the plasma display business by driving further expansion in our growth businesses.
This will be done by shifting related personnel and other business resources to the Car
Electronics business; the professional sound & visual (Pro SV) business, which
involves DJ equipment; and the audio/video product business, including Blu-ray Discrelated
products. We will give consideration to retaining employees in the course of this process. Details are currently under review and will be announced as soon as they
are finalized.
In fiscal 2008, the year ending March 31, 2008, Pioneer will book an impairment
loss on plasma display production facilities. In fiscal 2009, we will streamline the
plasma display business and shift resources to our growth businesses. However, these
measures are not expected to produce significant benefits until fiscal 2010.
Nevertheless, we believe that these measures will help to restore profitability in the
Home Electronics business in fiscal 2010.


Duplicate, but I thought this would do well on its own and not cluttered with misinformation from Asahi Shimbun and Engadget.

Edit: And Mike123 gets credit for breaking this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13316627#post13316627) in the big thread, ofc

Edit2: Trimmed fat and selectively bolded. Should be no more doubt that the 2008 Kuros are 100% Pioneer.

this does not mean the the 10G Plasma's will not be as good as the 9G

in fact.... the 10G's may even be much better.

I am not going to be a "sheep" and run out and buy a 9G just because Pioneer will not be making the 10G panels.

Pioneer can use this as a sales pitch behind closed doors.

"the last true Pioneer Plasma"

baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah twice even;)

this does not mean the the 10G Plasma's will not be as good as the 9G

in fact.... the 10G's may even be much better.

I am not going to be a "sheep" and run out and buy a 9G just because Pioneer will not be making the 10G panels.

It worked for the last Rolls-Royce.

NEC sold its half interest in what is now the Pioneer plasma plant about a year ago, and now Pioneer is shutting it down. Looks like NEC saw some sort of writing on the wall before Pioneer did.

I'm more concerned about Pioneer producing a quality product (i.e. reliable) in the 9G series given all the restructuring going on. That is, with Pionner trying to cut losses, who is to say if they will cut corners in manufacturing to save money? On top of that, how thorough will the Pionner factory emplyees be when they are all awaiting a layoff within the year? The 9G and 10G (1st outsourced line) will be somwhat risky products do to all the circumstances. I think we may need to wait until the 11G Pio-Panny sets to have the kinks worked out. Sad.

BTW, I'm glad someone broke this out of the main thread. That thread had become to much to follow.

Pioneer: Plasma TVs Still On The Menu

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 3/7/2008 1:02:00 PM

This interview between Russ Johnston of Pioneer and Twice magazine that was just published this afternoon is an interesting read and gives more details on the future. The LCD 42 inch and smaller Kuro’s are for the European market only at this time. The LCD Kuro’s are not going to produce as deep of blacks as the Plasma screens and are primary for people that want a cheap flat panel for the second room.

http://www.twice.com/article/CA6539630.html (http://www.twice.com/article/CA6539630.html)

This is saddening.

Pioneer: Plasma TVs Still On The Menu

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 3/7/2008 1:02:00 PM

This interview between Russ Johnston of Pioneer and Twice magazine that was just published this afternoon is an interesting read and gives more details on the future. The LCD 42 inch and smaller Kuro’s are for the European market only at this time. The LCD Kuro’s are not going to produce as deep of blacks as the Plasma screens and are primary for people that want a cheap flat panel for the second room.

http://www.twice.com/article/CA6539630.html (http://www.twice.com/article/CA6539630.html)
The true Pio Kuro LCD's likely will not be seen in size or volume until Sharp finishes their new plant in late 2009 where substrates will larger than any and they will have had two years in the partnership in which the thin form factors debut before and keep in mind Sharp has had one million to one CR in professional media panels for about 2 years now used in the medical, media and defense industries. It's already developed and only needs to evolve with the help of a quality partner like Pioneer and then around 2011/2012 OLED should be a reality from that same plant - Sony is already in that game though in very small sizes. Initial LCD's this year are likely to be a stop gap until early 2010 when full product in larger sizes will ship by Sharp, Pioneer and Sony from the same plant.

I applaud Pioneer for following the formula Sony did with the big difference maker being Sony transitioned from PDP having built nothing of their own in the PDP segment so they weren't really leaving anything unique like Kuro, it appears Pioneer can continue in dual mode covering both bases of LCD and it's evolution to OLED and PDP and in the meantime they are garnering a ton of press. This blood letting of profits at Pio has gone on quite a number of years as they tried to stay with in-country high labor costs - with this model they can try both ways and remain in the game with it's VP electronics/filtering. Sony did a 180 since their transition to Bravia LCD's when it comes to profits and that is the reason they are in business lets face it.

It's not like Pioneer is filing for outright Bankruptcy and dissolving - No, they are Evolving to the benefit of both PDP/LCD and the consumers - whether you have a disdain for LCD doesn't matter - the fact that 100 million will be sold this year is a force to be reckoned with and Pio deserves a share of that money pie and we deserve a share of their expertise in the LCD marketplace even if it costs more I'd pay it.

Let's face the ironic fact that despite being the crowned panel king by most professionals failed to keep it from losing market share and yet more financial losses. Fujitsu gave in, SXRD was killed off for RPTV despite it being one of the highest rated panels but will live on in FP's - profits RULE, Pio evolved it's technology without evolving it's infrastructure and related costs while it's competitors undercut them. IMO Pioneer is the winner here --- you migrate with Top of the Class PDP and carry the KURO forward in Dual Mode to an awaiting new consumer base for LCD with an appetite for Pio quality - let's hope they can deliver. Damn smart of Pioneer and Sharp. :)