Sharp changes its tune again: It will not consider closing the Mihara LED factory at all

At the beginning of the financial crisis, Japanese LCD panel maker Sharp vowed not to consider spinning off its LCD panel business. However, Sharp President Koizo Takahashi said in an interview with reporters in Shenzhen, China on April 9 that Sharp was indeed considering spinning off its panel business. However, Takahashi changed his tune at yesterday's (May 14) financial report briefing, saying that he was not considering spinning off the panel business.

Kozo Takahashi

Nikkei News reported that Kozo Takahashi said at the financial report briefing held on the 14th that he is not considering spinning off the LCD panel business at this stage. He said that Sharp plans to introduce an "intra-company branch system" in October, which will change the five major businesses of panels, home appliances, and electronic components into internal branches with independent operating rights. However, in the current reconstruction plan blueprint, there is no consideration to spin off the panel business.

According to the Japanese media newswitch, Takahashi Kozo said on the 14th that in the latest announced mid-term operating plan, without the LCD panel, the mid-term operating plan will be impossible to achieve. Therefore, it is impossible to spin off the panel business, even a few% of the equity or assets, because once the panel business is split, it will be equivalent to abandoning the mid-term operating plan.

Sharp announced its new mid-term operating plan on the 14th (the operating plan for the period 2015-2017).(i.e., operational reconstruction plan), Takahashi Kozo also emphasized that he will completely withdraw from unprofitable businesses, and that this reconstruction plan will not include any "sacred areas (untouchable businesses)."

However, the reconstruction plan announced by Sharp is centered on "streamlining measures" such as cutting fixed costs, that is, it will lay off 10% of its global employees from the current approximately 50,000 employees. Among them, 3,500 employees in Japan will be laid off by recruiting voluntary early retirement before the end of September. It also plans to sell the headquarters building in Abeno District, Osaka City. However, previously reported plans to close Japanese TV factories, sell overseas TV factories, and close electronic parts factories are completely invisible.

Japanese media Asahi Shimbun reported on the 15th that Sharp's reconstruction plan focuses on "downsizing." Although this move is expected to get Sharp out of a loss-making situation, it cannot see where the company will go in the future. The report pointed out that Takahashi Kozo said that although the Mihara Factory that produces LEDs and the Tochigi Factory, Japan's main LCD TV factory, had reviewed the need for closure, they are now not considering it at all.

According to a Nikkei report on the 15th, the reconstruction plan announced by Sharp lacks specific countermeasures, so it is still unclear what the company's future growth strategy will be. The reconstruction plan can only be described as a "half-toned" plan. The report pointed out that in Sharp’s reconstruction plan, only Sharp is considering ending the majorTelevision in Asia and Canada.