Image credit: Nikkei,Local sources say that Sharp is to close its Tenri LCD factory in Nara Prefecture, Japan, although there will be no job losses. The move is being taken as part of a re-organisation of the company’s loss-making LCD business.
Sharp’s Tenri plant began operations in 1991 and has been used to produce smartphone display panels. It will be closed at the end of August – largely due to ageing equipment, said the sources. Around 130 employees work at the site, and will be moved to the Kameyama plant in Mie Prefecture. However, the Tenri facility will remain ‘a key hub’ for advanced technologies, including organic electroluminescent (OLED) displays.
In addition, Sharp is to halt operations at one of the two production lines at another plant in Mie, which produces smartphones for the Chinese market. Part of the operations will be moved to the Kameyama plant.
Evertiq says that Sharp has reached an agreement with the company labour union that will see it try to make up some funds through labour cost reductions. This means that it will lower wages of both managerial staff and regular employees.
The 2% pay cut for regular employees, which was supposed to end in March, will continue from April 2016 – March 2017. The same applies to the 5% reduction in managerial staff wages.
