It seems to be no secret that Nikon has fallen on hard times, especially as its camera sales recently suffered the worst sales slump in years, thanks to the pandemic. Now it is being reported that Nikon is halting its camera production in Japan, ending over half a century of manufacturing them in that country. According to Japanese publication AERAdot, production will shift from the Sendai “mother factory” in Japan to Nikon’s satellite plant in Thailand in an effort to reduce production costs.

[Read: Nikon Z 6 II Review: In-Depth Lab Tests]

The decision comes after reports in November that Nikon would
cut 20 percent of its staff outside of Japan on the back of operating losses of $183.3 million in Q2 2020. 

Preparations to transfer production of both the Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z7 to Thailand already began in October, and by 2021 the flagship Nikon D6 will also be manufactured in the Thai facility.

Nikon has produced cameras (starting with the Nikon EM entry level film camera) at its Sendai Nikon facility in Miyagi Prefecture, about 200 miles north of Tokyo, since 1979. Founded in 1971, the plant—which was damaged in the massive earthquake that hit Japan back in 2011—has acted as the central hub that has provided technical assistance to overseas production. (Fun fact: The first Nikon camera produced in Japan was a line of twenty experimental cameras, which were made in the Nippon Kokagu factory in 1946.)

The company’s Thailand factory was established in 1990 and has slowly become Nikon’s main factory for the production of cameras and interchangeable lenses for the past 30 years.

Nikon General Manager of Video Division Hirotaka Ikegami said in a statement to AERAdot that “the ‘mother factory’ will continue to be used as a start-up for new business endeavors that will support Nikon’s future, with an emphasis on production technology and mobility.”