Sharp Corp. plans to pull out from domestic production of major appliances and shift to overseas manufacturing as part of streamlining efforts under Taiwanese parent Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., a source said Friday.
With the move, the Osaka Prefecture-based company will draw the curtain on its decades of manufacturing of those products at two plants, one in Osaka and the other in Tochigi. Instead, Sharp's domestic facilities will concentrate on high-value electronic components, the source said.
Sharp will cease production of refrigerators at its Yao plant in Osaka Prefecture, which began operations in 1959, in the business year through March 2020, the source said.