Sharp to End White Goods Production in Japan

August 3, 2018

Osaka- Sharp Corp. plans to end production of white goods in Japan to shift output overseas, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Tai Jeng-wu said in a message to employees on Friday.

The move is designed to help the Japanese electronics maker improve competitiveness in its home appliance business through cost cuts. The company will focus domestic production on high-value-added electronics parts.

Sharp will terminate refrigerator production at its plant in Yao, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, by September next year.

The Yao plant, the company's sole white goods plant in the country, has an annual refrigerator production capacity of 430,000 units.

White goods manufactured at the plant once included microwaves and washing machines, but only refrigerators are made there currently. The plant will continue production of lighting equipment for business use.

The company will also end production of liquid crystal display television sets at its plant in Yaita, Tochigi Prefecture, eastern Japan, within this year. The plant will remain as a base for logistics and maintenance services.

In addition, Sharp plans to consolidate three research and development bases for TV sets in the country into two.

The company plans to maintain the employment of a total of some 2,200 workers at the Yao and Yaita plants, a company spokesman said.

Sharp was acquired by Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. in 2016.

The Japanese company swung into an annual group net profit for the first time in four years in the year ended last March. In the quarter ended in June, net profit grew 32.6 pct from a year before. Jiji Press