Denso Fires 132 Calif. Workers as Firm Shifts Focus

Denso Corp., Japan’s largest auto supplier, fired 132 employees in Vista and Carlsbad, Calif., as it redirects business from wireless handsets to automotive electronics.

The employees, who made handsets for Sprint Corp. phones, were fired Tuesday at Denso Wireless Systems America as part of a North American shift in resources toward automotive electronics such as navigation systems, said company spokeswoman Marlene Goldsmith. The firm in May eliminated 19 sales and marketing jobs as part of the same restructuring, she said.

Denso, a quarter owned by Toyota Motor Corp., has 22 U.S. subsidiaries. Denso Wireless Systems America will continue to make handsets for other companies, Goldsmith said. The resources used to make the Sprint phones will be redirected to automotive electronics activities as that business grows, she said.

The Tokyo-based auto supplier reported Nov. 7 that it had a 41% rise in profit for the April-September period to $310 million. Denso employs 13,000 people in the U.S. and 85,000 worldwide.