South Korean conglomerate company LG will reportedly close the mobile phone research and development department in LG Electronics China R&D Center in Beijing and cut half of the staff in the department.
According to reports in Chinese local media, the company said it hopes to minimize the number of layoff workers by further internal staffing.
Established in 2002, LG Electronics China R&D Center is the company's largest R&D center outside South Korea. The development of mobile phone products is one of the major businesses of the center.
A representative from LG confirmed to the local media that its mobile phone R&D department will soon have major adjustments. At present, the company's mobile phone R&D department is in Beijing and its plant is located in Shandong. LG plans to combine its manufacturing and development to improve efficiency. Once the plan is implemented, its mobile phone R&D department will be relocated to Yantai, Shandong. By then, members of the mobile phone R&D team will be transferred to Yantai or the headquarters in South Korea. They can also stay at the Beijing R&D center and transfer to the LCD TV R&D department.