Job Losses Expected As Renesas Electronics Shutters Former Nokia Operations

 

Renesas Electronics has announced that it is to shut-down the LTE modem manufacturing subsidiary that it acquired from Nokia in late 2010 for US$200 million.

The company said that it is closing the division citing tougher-than-expected market conditions surrounding it, and so that it can concentrate its Group managerial resources on its core business.

The company had previously announced that it would try to sell the division as a going concern, but has evidently failed to find a buyer. The division has posted what the company described as "significant losses" since it bought the semiconductor subsidiary from Nokia.

The Group will continue to supply non-LTE modem products, or already in mass production and supplied to its customers. In addition, the Group is to continue its operation related to car information systems and industrial equipment business.

The parent group secured a US$1.8 billion bailout from the Japanese government last year

The division had around 1,100 staff in Finland, with 300 staff in India and 30 employees in China. It's expected that the majority of these employees will be made redundant as the company closes down by the end of this year.