Sony Transfers Lithium Battery Assembly to China and Singapore

According to a Reuters report, Japan's Asahi Shimbun reported on Saturday that in order to cope with the strong yen, Sony will shift domestic lithium battery production overseas by March 24, 2014. Lithium batteries are used in mobile phones and electric cars.

The consumer electronics giant will shift its lithium battery assembly operations to China and Singapore, but the parts needed for lithium battery production will still be produced in Japan. As part of the overall initiative, Sony plans to transform its lithium battery plant in Tochigi Prefecture into a research facility, and is also considering requiring about 500 employees to apply for transfer or voluntarily resign.

In Fukushima Prefecture in eastern Japan, Sony also has two lithium battery factories.

At the same time, Sony’s competitor Matsushita is also cutting lithium battery production in China and increasing its lithium battery production in China.

Japan used to dominate lithium battery production for a long time. However, due to the rise of Korean companies such as Samsung SDI, its leading edge has been lost.

The strong performance of the yen has exerted pressure on exporters and forced them to shift factories to overseas regions.

Sony was downgraded by Moody's on Wednesday. The company will release its quarterly earnings report from October to December last year on February 2. The market expects its performance to decline. The decline is mainly due to the strengthening of the yen, the depressed sentiment of European consumers, and the unfavorable impact of flooding in Thailand on its factories. influences.