Panasonic will stop selling plasma TVs by March 2014, says Reuters

Panasonic may have developed its final plasma TV panel, but the company said it planned to continue sales into 2014 at least, noting its “responsibility” to customers. The reality may be towards the shorter end of that timeframe, however, as Reuters reports that Panasonic will exit the plasma market in its current financial year — which ends in March 2014.

Hundreds of employees will be reassigned to other positions, say Reuters’ sources, and Panasonic will book an impairment loss of over ¥40 billion ($413 million) on its sole remaining plasma plant. When reached for comment, the company said that nothing had been decided.

Panasonic told The Verge earlier this year that OLED display technology — noted for its high contrast and deep black levels, like plasma — is one of its “key future products.” The company showed off a 56-inch 4K OLED TV at CES 2013.