(Yicai Global) Jan. 14 -- One of Japanese camera giant Canon’s China subsidiaries is shutting its doors after 32 years due to the unprecedented difficulties it faces from a contracting global camera market and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Canon Zhuhai is going out of business, members of the management committee of the high-tech zone in Zhuhai in the southern province of Guangdong where the camera maker is based told Yicai Global. The committee will ensure that the rights of the firm’s staff are protected.

All 1,317 employees have been notified and the company is negotiating severance packages with them, a staff member said.

Canon Zhuhai, in which Canon owns an 83.1 percent stake and Canon China the rest, produced 12.29 million lenses, 1.03 million digital cameras and 94,000 video cameras in 2020. Set up in 1990, it had made investments totaling USD220 million as of the end of 2020, according to company data.

Tokyo-based Canon entered China in the late 1970s and set up Canon China in March 1997 to oversee sales in the country. Canon China has stakes in 13 companies including Canon Zhuhai.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor