Phone production will be moved to an existing plant in Vietnam.
Quarter after quarter, LG continually loses money on its smartphone division. The company’s tried to shake things up, such as moving away from being committed to releasing a new phone every year, but it looks like things still aren’t working.
According to a report from Reuters citing Yonhap News Agency, LG is planning on stopping production of smartphones at its manufacturing plant in South Korea and moving the work over to an existing one in Vietnam.
Per Reuters:
Citing an unidentified source, Yonhap reported that LG decided to move its local handset production to Vietnam to help turn around the money-losing smartphones division. LG’s mobile business, in the red for seven quarters, and intensifying price competition in the global TV market likely weighed on its first quarter earnings, analysts have said.
In addition to its plant in Vietnam, LG also has manufacturing facilities in China, Brazil, and India. Up until now, the one in South Korea focused on producing the company’s high-end smartphones and was in charge of creating 10 – 20% of LG’s total smartphones.
LG’s yet to comment on this news, and while it likely doesn’t mean that LG is pulling out of the smartphone business anytime in the immediate future, it still isn’t a good sign for what the future holds. It’s weird to think about a future without LG smartphones, but at some point down the road, that could be a reality we’re faced with.
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