A fresh round of financial problems for component-manufacturer Japan Display Inc could see Nintendo lose the sole supplier for the displays used in their Switch gaming console.
“We continue to face very severe market conditions,” Japan Display’s financial chief Takanobu Oshima said. The company reported a net loss for the quarter of approximately $286.4 million USD earlier this week.
As a result, the company says it is moving to enact drastic restructuring. They say 30% of their workforce will be cut, with 3700 jobs to be shed.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal and Press Start Australia, Japan Display currently relies on a contract producing LCD displays for Apple’s iPhones for 51% of its revenue. However, the industry-wide shift from smartphone makers towards OLED is having a major impact on the company’s fortunes.
Reports now say that Japan Display are eyeing a potential merger with a Chinese or Taiwanese entity in order to salvage their situation. Regardless, as the sole supplier of the display panels used in Nintendo’s Switch, any disruption to their business could have a knock-on effect on the previously-strained supplies of the new console.
In the past, Nintendo has admitted it has incorrectly predicted demand for some of its products, leading to supply issues for consoles like the Nintendo Switch and the NES Classic Edition.
