Foxconn Electronics has given up marketing graphics cards under its own brand and has rearranged its Channel Service Division (CSD) shifting the majority of the 9,000 employees, mainly related to production, to its OEM division. Around 500, mainly sales and marketing related, staff remain in CSD, according to Young Liu, special assistant to the CEO.

Foxconn CSD recently included white-box netbook and smartbook businesses under its operation, and will take a conservative attitude toward its own-brand motherboard business, Liu noted. The company expects to ship 6-7 million own-brand motherboards in 2009 after the staff reorganizations, up from five million in 2008. OEM shipments will reach around 30 million units.

Due to low penetration of 3G networks in China and the limits of 10-inch displays which have impacted demand for Intel Atom-based netbooks, Foxconn's netbook shipments in China have been limited, Liu said. However, the company is working aggressively to land more orders and is aiming to become the leader in the local market.

Read the entire article in DigiTimes.