LG is shutting down its mobile phone business unit for good. After a unanimous vote, the board of directors approved the final decision today after several months of reviewing the direction of LG’s smartphone business. As The Wall Street Journal pointed out, “LG has been in the red for 23 straight quarters, with the accumulated losses exceeding $4.4 billion.”
In a press release, LG said that this decision will enable the company to focus more heavily on its growth sectors including electronic vehicles, smart homes, artificial intelligence, connected devices, robotics, and business-to-business solutions.
Current LG inventory will remain for sale and the full wind down is expected to be complete by July 31, though some inventory may remain available after that. Support and software updates for existing customers will continue for “a period of time” and will vary by region.
LG had some exciting, albeit unconventional, ideas in the works for its smartphone business, like the rollable phone we saw a prototype for at CES 2021. Moving forward, LG says, it will “continue to leverage its mobile expertise and develop mobility-related technologies.” While we don’t know exactly what that will look like, LG specifically mentioned 6G.
Over the next few months, there will probably be a lot of reassigning of roles going on for employees, and some potential layoffs. Details of these changes will be made at the local level, LG says.
Jessica is the Chief Digital Editor for CT Lab Global Media, the North American platform for IFA Berlin.
