Mitsubishi Electric to Restructure U.S. Units

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. said it will close its U.S. holding company and get out of several businesses as part of a restructuring to focus on digital television and computer hardware and software. Cypress-based Mitsubishi Electric America Inc. will be closed and an Americas corporate office will be opened as part of Mitsubishi Electronics America Inc., the largest of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi’s subsidiaries in the U.S. The company will close the audiovisual division of Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics America and open a new digital consumer electronics company. The cellular phone operations will be streamlined by shutting Astronet Corp. and the cellular mobile telephone unit. The restructuring is scheduled to be completed by March. Earnings at the parent company fell 33% in the first half of the year as memory chip prices declined and Japan’s recession weakened demand for its heavy machinery and household electronics.