Seoul, South Korea – Electronics maker LG will give up its shortage of cell phone business to focus on electric vehicle components, robotics, artificial intelligence and other products and services, the South Korean company said today.
LG’s board of directors approved the strategy change, and the company expected to end its mobile phone business completely by the end of July, the corporate statement said.
LG became the third largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world, but has lost market share to Chinese and other competitors.
According to Counterpoint Technology Market Research, it remained the third-largest manufacturer in the industry in North America, with 13% market share, behind Apple’s 39% and Samsung’s 30% in the third quarter of 2020.
The company had previously indicated that it was analyzing its strategy, with sales up 5% in the last quarter of 2020 compared to the previous year. However, profitability declined due to poor sales of its high-quality products.
The company indicated that it would sell its stock of cell phones and that it would continue to provide service and support for items that were already in use for different time periods, depending on when they were sold.
Details about jobs will be determined “at the local level,” the company said.
LG shares are down 2.5% today.