Samsung Electronics has decided to end production at its only TV manufacturing plant in China by the end of November, a company spokesman said Monday. The Tianjin TV factory is the last production base for Samsung Electronics in China, he said.
The factory employs about 300 people, Yonhap news agency reported on Monday. Samsung declined to comment on the number of layoffs, but said some of the workers and equipment are expected to be retained.
The decision follows the display division of Samsung Electronics last week separately confirmed that it is selling a majority stake in its LCD division in Suzhou to Star Optoelectronics Technology of TCL Technology Group Corp.
In March, Samsung Display announced that it had decided to end all LCD production in South Korea and China by the end of this year.
Samsung announced in August that it would shut down its last computer plant in China.
On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the US is “grossly intimidating” Chinese companies and urged them to end harassment of foreign companies in response to news of potential US sanctions against Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), China's largest chip maker.
On Friday, Reuters reported that the US Department of Defense may prohibit US companies from purchasing and selling SMIC goods and services.
