Asian Tech Press (Dec 10) -- Japanese multinational conglomerate companyPanasonic is rumored to drastically downsize its TV business, outsource production to Chinese manufacturer TCL, and close two of its four remaining factories to cut costs.

Panasonic recently signed a deal with TCL, the world's third-largest TV maker. TCL will produce most of Panasonic's cheaper TV sets for markets such as Southeast Asia and India starting next year, according to Nikkei. The two companies also hope to cooperate in panel sourcing and development, accounting for a significant portion of production costs.

Panasonic, meanwhile, will end production in Japan, Vietnam and India by fiscal 2020 and will close plants in Brazil this year and in the Czech Republic by the end of March next year, leaving only two plants in Malaysia and Taiwan. The company will continue to produce high-margin products such as OLED for the Japanese domestic market.