TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Display maker AUO Corp. confirmed Wednesday (Dec. 20) that it was planning to close its plant in Singapore by the end of the month.

Chair Paul Peng (彭双浪) said the company was adjusting its operations and optimizing its assets, per CNA. The changes in Singapore will reportedly affect 500 employees, with some of them being transferred to a new business unit.

If equipment from the Singapore plant still had use, it would be moved to Taiwan, Peng said. A new factory in Vietnam was scheduled to start production next year, with smart manufacturing services becoming one of the company’s top interests in Southeast Asia.

The Singapore plant produced displays for notebooks, smartphones, and for use in cars. Its closure was partly a result of a shift from LCD to organic-light emitting displays (OLED), per Asia Nikkei.

Peng told reporters he expected “moderate growth” in 2024, though the industry still had to look out for unexpected occurrences. The economy was performing less strongly than had been expected at the start of 2023 due to wars, inflation, and slow growth in China, he said.