Pioneer has confirmed rumors that have flared this week and will be dropping out of the TV business altogether.
The move follows the $1.44 billion USD loss the company has taken in the past year on its LCD and Plasma operations. Two factories will be shut down immediately and the company will completely phase out TVs by the Q1 2010.
Additionally, the company said it will cut costs by cutting 10,000 jobs, mainly in Japan.
In the TV business, Pioneer is best known for its high quality Kuro plasma TVs which enjoy high contrast ratios and color replication. Back in March however, the company said it would halt Plasma production to focus on LCD production.
Result for: replication
In mid-October, the Argentine coast guard targeted one of the most notorious piracy markets. The La Salada market has been targeted before, and has a reputation for housing enormous amounts of counterfeit products. The Economic Crime Unit executed several search warrants on warehouses around the market, located in the suburbs of Buenos Aires.
The raids were the result of an investigation that lasted for a year, targeting imported products entering the Port of Argentina found to have suspect invoices and to be undervalued. The products would (and do) end up in pirate markets all across the country as they move through the illicit chain.
The actions yielded five million discs containing music and films, 63 burners, two industrial printers and 200 master plates that are used for professional album cover replication. Several organized crime syndicates have been identified as operating in the market.
