Sharp Will Close Two LCD Lines in Japan From January

Sharp Corp., Japan’s largest maker of liquid-crystal-display televisions, said it will close LCD panel production lines at two plants in western Japan, because of a glut of the appliances.

The company will shut down one LCD-panel line at a plant in Mie prefecture and another at a factory in Nara prefecture from January, Osaka-based Sharp said in a statement today. Sharp makes LCD panels for use in mobile phones and personal computers at the facilities.

Sharp joins AU Optronics Corp. in scaling back production as the global recession hurts demand and panel prices slump. AU, Taiwan’s largest maker of LCD panels, said yesterday it will delay the construction of a factory as clients such as Sony Corp. cut profit forecasts and shed jobs.

Sharp will close one line each at the two factories and completely halt all panel production at these units by the end of September, 2009, Yoshiaki Ibuchi, an executive vice president, told reporters in Osaka.

The company will shift part of the production of small- and mid-sized LCD panels to the Kameyama plant in Mie Prefecutre, it said. Sharp makes television LCD panels at the Kameyama factory.

“One of the purposes of this reorganization is to strengthen our business of small- and mid-sized LCD panels used for personal computers and other products,” Ibuchi said.

The company will also cut 380 temporary jobs at three factories, Ibuchi said, adding Sharp won’t sack full-time workers.

The television maker has “made no change” to its LCD television-shipment forecast for the 12 months ending March 31, said Miyuki Nakayama, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman. Sharp expects to sell 11 million LCD TVs in the fiscal year, President Mikio Katayama said on Oct. 15.

Sharp fell 5.7 percent to 610 yen at 2:05 p.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 5.2 percent.