LG's Vietnamese smartphone production line to make home appliances

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday it plans to produce home appliances from its smartphone manufacturing line in northern Vietnam, as the company earlier decided to fully withdraw from the mobile business.

Under the plan, the company will complete the transformation within this year while reallocating affected workers, LG Electronics said in a statement.

"Exiting smartphone production here is part of LG's plan to restructure our core product portfolio," said Jung Hai-jin, president of LG Electronics' Vietnamese arm.

"The closing of LG's mobile business will not significantly impact LG's production, business activities or employees in Haiphong," he added.

LG launched the production line in Haiphong in 2015. The plant has been producing home appliances, smartphones and in-vehicle infotainment components.

The Haiphong plant currently employs more than 16,000 workers.

The company also hinted that it will make additional investment in the plant in the near future.

The South Korean tech firm's mobile business has been in the red since the second quarter of 2015. Its accumulated operating losses reached 5 trillion won (US$4.4 billion) last year.

Last month, the tech giant said it would ditch its smartphone business.

LG, meanwhile, is also currently in talks with a workers' union of its smartphone production line in Brazil. (Yonhap)