Zenith jobs threatened after Philips pulls out of plant deal

Struggling US TV operation Zenith Electronics says it will close its tube manufacturing plant in December if a buyer can't be found. On Friday it was revealed that Philips Electronics had been in talks to buy the operation, which has 2,000 workers, but has now pulled out. The plant has to go anyway as part of a drastic re-engineering process Zenith is going through. The company, once the leader in US TV production, was hammered by overseas competition, and after the computer side of the business was sold to Bull, the company gained backing from Korean giant LG Electronics. But under current circumstances LG isn't in a position to fund Zenith heavily. Zenith is intended to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of LG in exchange for further backing, but the company is also trying to get out of manufacturing completely, retaining the Zenith brand, and concentrating on interactive TV and set-top box design. ® Click for more stories