South Korean tech giant Samsung said Saturday it will suspend operations at its last computer factory in China to restructure its manufacturing operations.
About half of the 1,700 contract employees at Samsung's Suzhou computer plant will be affected, excluding those involved in research and development, according to a Netease.
In 2012, the factory shipped $4.3 billion worth of goods out of China. And by 2018, that figure had dropped to $1 billion.
In a statement, the company said: "China remains an important market for Samsung, and we will continue to provide quality products and services to Chinese consumers."
Samsung closed its last smartphone factory in China last year, and its remaining facilities include two semiconductor manufacturing sites in Suzhou and Xi'an.