Electronics maker Sharp Corp. is considering shrinking its struggling liquid crystal display business to prepare for possible partnership with government- and private-sector funded Japan Display Inc., sources have said.
Sharp is mulling downsizing production of 32-inch TV panels at its mainstay Kameyama plant and gradually transferring panel production at its aging Mie plants to Kameyama, they said. The Kameyama and Mie plants are both located in Mie Prefecture.
Sharp may also eventually close the Mie plants if demand for smartphone panels produced there does not recover, the sources said Tuesday.
The Mie Plant No. 1 has already stopped production, while the operation rate of its Plant No. 3, which makes panels for Chinese smartphones, has slumped to around 20 percent.
The Mie plants, which started operations in 1995, had around 1,700 workers as of March this year.
Japan Display, a major manufacturer of small to medium-sized LCDs, is backed by Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, an investment fund set up with government- and private-sector funding.