Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) plans to reshuffle operations at Foxconn Health Technology Business Group (鴻海健康科技事業群), the Chinese-language Mirror Media reported yesterday.
Set up by Gou in 2008 through the Yonglin Foundation, the New Taipei City-headquartered healthcare group faces a reorganization that could result in hundreds of employees being laid off, the weekly said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Gou made the decision after accusing his brother-in-law, Leonard Wu (吳良襄), of mismanagement and heavy losses, it said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Aiming to steer Foxconn Heath toward profitability, Gou plans to shut down several loss-making subsidiaries, including US-based Sotera Wireless Inc, it added.
Sotera, which developed patient monitoring system ViSi Mobile, was originally set up as a joint venture between Qualcomm Inc, Intel Corp and the foundation.
Due to ViSi Mobile’s poor design, Sotera has incurred more than US$100 million in losses for Foxconn Health after Qualcomm and Intel withdrew their investments, Mirror Media said.
The group’s health management unit Healthconn Corp (康聯), digital healthcare system provider Heathera Co (永悅健康) and stem cell research start-up Retain Biotech Corp (睿田) would be spared due to their proven profitability, it said.
Hon Hai’s medical units — Genconn Biotech Corp (康誠), which specializes in cancer detection, and Coning Technology Co Ltd (康儀), which makes medical equipment — would not be affected, it added.
Gou did not respond to a request for comment.
The foundation yesterday said that the healthcare business is experiencing a boom in growth potential, which needs to be guided by a steady hand.
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