By Adedapo Adesanya
LG Electronics Incorporated (LG) has announced the closing of its mobile business unit after five gruelling years of financial losses and uncertainty about the future of its mobile handsets.
In a press release, the company explained that the decision was approved by its board of directors earlier on Monday in South Korea, its global headquarters.
LG’s strategic decision to exit the incredibly competitive mobile phone sector will enable the company to focus resources in growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services.
LG will provide service support and software updates for customers of existing mobile products for a period of time which will vary by region.
LG will also work collaboratively with suppliers and business partners throughout the closure of the mobile phone business. Details related to employment will be determined at the local level.
Moving forward, LG will continue to leverage its mobile expertise and develop mobility-related technologies such as Sixth Generation technology (6G) to help further strengthen competitiveness in other business areas.
It added that core technologies developed during the two decades of LG’s mobile business operations will also be retained and applied to existing and future products.
The wind-down of the mobile phone business is expected to be completed by July 31 although the inventory of some existing models may still be available after that.
In March, it was reported that LG was considering exiting the smartphone industry, although, at the time, rumours suggested the company was aiming to sell the business instead of a complete shutdown. However, the lack of significant growth and mainstream adoption in recent years meant it was unable to find a potential buyer.
LG Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea.
The company was established in 1958 and has since led the way into the advanced digital era, thanks to the technological expertise acquired by manufacturing many home appliances such as radios and TVs.
LG Electronics has unveiled many new products, applied new technologies in the form of mobile devices and digital TVs in the 21st century and continues to reinforce its status as a global company.
