South Korea's LG Electronics announced their withdrawal from the smartphone scene on April 5, 2021.

According to a press release, the exit will allow them to focus more on "growth areas" such as electric vehicle components, robotics, artificial intelligence, and more.

While they make their exit, LG will still provide service support and software updates for customers of existing mobile products for a period of time, which will vary by region.

Employment details will be decided on the local level.

The wind down of the mobile phone business is expected to be completed by July 31 although inventory of some existing models may still be available after that.

The announcement comes after reports of massive losses incurred over the years by LG, reportedly losing US$4.5 billion (S$6.06 billion) over the last five years.

Back in January, 2021, CEO Kwon Bong-seok had sent out a message reassuring staff that "regardless of any change in the direction of the smartphone business operation, the employment will be maintained, so there is no need to worry,”

The closure of the mobile business unit was approved by the board of directors.

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