The Japanese website diamond.jp reports that Panasonic may also pull out of the camera business just like Olympus:
Panasonic has decided to outsource TV production to TCL in China. With this, the structural reform of the TV business, which has been in the red for many years, has come to an end, but the reform is still halfway compared to the global competition. Along with TVs, the three problematic businesses are digital cameras and housings (toilet, kitchen, building materials, etc.). Can Panasonic's new system have the "courage to withdraw" to put an end to non-competitive businesses? (source: diamond.jp, translated)
Here is the article recap by Digicame-info:
Panasonic will carry out a "organizational reorganization" in October. "Panasonic Entertainment & Communication", which is in charge of TVs and digital cameras, has been removed from Panasonic Corporation, which is in charge of home appliances and electrical materials. Being removed from the mainstream maintenance "Great Panasonic" is almost as if it was branded as a non-core business.
TVs, digital cameras, and housings are all problematic children with no prospect of improving profits. This downgrade is nothing more than a management message that these businesses are approaching a termination scenario.
Panasonic's camera market share is currently around 4.4%, and the number of cameras is around 390,000, which makes it lacking in presence. Competitors with similar shares are all in the red, and Panasonic's digital camera business is also likely to be suffering from low profits.
Sony, which is good at image sensor technology, introduced a full-size mirrorless camera in 2013, and the stock was taken away at once, and the momentum of dropping flying birds is now a shadow to see. Nor.
For Panasonic, which is about to undertake structural reforms without sanctuaries, digital cameras can be said to be the right-wing of the "withdrawal business." (source: Digicame-info, translated)