Panasonic AVC Networks Kuala Lumpur shuts down by the end of March 2027, roughly 400 jobs gone. That plant builds televisions, Panasonic Blu-ray players and some Technics components, and the work is being split up rather than killed off. Disc player production moves to China Hualu Panasonic AVC Networks by the end of September 2026. Technics production leaves the Shah Alam factory by the end of February 2027 and goes somewhere else inside the Panasonic Group - they have not said where, or which Technics products are even made there.
The disc player half is what matters on a forum like this. Panasonic's decks are the ones that get recommended in every thread about which UHD player to buy, and Panasonic is one of a shrinking handful of firms still bothering with the category. Relocating a line does not have to hurt anything, but it does mean new tooling, new staff, a fresh QC process and a different country on the box. No delays, no price changes and no cancellations have been announced, so anyone declaring the players doomed is guessing.
What makes me less relaxed is the pattern rather than this one plant. Earlier this year Panasonic handed US television production to Skyworth. Now Malaysia goes. That is two moves in twelve months toward Panasonic being a company that specifies and badges rather than one that builds. Malaysia still has around 12,000 Panasonic staff across other operations, so this is not an exit from the country, it is a narrowing of what Panasonic makes with its own hands.
Does country of origin actually change your buying decision on a disc player, or is that pure sentiment at this point?
The disc player half is what matters on a forum like this. Panasonic's decks are the ones that get recommended in every thread about which UHD player to buy, and Panasonic is one of a shrinking handful of firms still bothering with the category. Relocating a line does not have to hurt anything, but it does mean new tooling, new staff, a fresh QC process and a different country on the box. No delays, no price changes and no cancellations have been announced, so anyone declaring the players doomed is guessing.
What makes me less relaxed is the pattern rather than this one plant. Earlier this year Panasonic handed US television production to Skyworth. Now Malaysia goes. That is two moves in twelve months toward Panasonic being a company that specifies and badges rather than one that builds. Malaysia still has around 12,000 Panasonic staff across other operations, so this is not an exit from the country, it is a narrowing of what Panasonic makes with its own hands.
Does country of origin actually change your buying decision on a disc player, or is that pure sentiment at this point?
