Cherry gives up German production and wants to sell core division

Summary

Cherry gives up German production and wants to sell core division The deficit at Cherry is adding up. From January 2025 to the end of September, the company made a net loss of almost 20.4 million euros, with a turnover of 70.7 million euros. Cherry now has more debt than equity (equity deficit), which recently led to an extraordinary general meeting. Made in China Chief Operating Officer (COO) Udo Streller announced there that the switch production in Auerbach has now been completely discontinued. Instead, Cherry has outsourced production to "established partners in China and Slovakia". The patent for the Cherry MX design finally expired in 2014. Since then, more and more Chinese companies have been producing switches that are also of comparable quality to Cherry's. Alternatives include JWK, Gateron, SP Star, Kailh, KTT, Outemu, and Tecsee. Switches from China were among the first to be lubricated with grease or oil from the factory. They are also experimenting with materials. Cherry is lagging behind its Far Eastern competitors in so-called Hall effect switches with magnetic fields. There are now countless switch variants. Providers like Razer and Logitech also have their self-marketed types produced by Chinese manufacturers, such as Kailh. Auerbach will henceforth function as a "cost-effective development, logistics, and service hub" for Cherry. Contracts with an external logistics partner expire at the end of the year. There are now countless keyboard switches from various manufacturers, mostly in colorful housings. (Image: Mark Mantel/ heise medien) Partial sale Restructuring, loans, and capital injections from investors are not enough to keep Cherry afloat. The manufacturer therefore wants to sell either the peripherals division or the Digital Health & Solutions division to use the proceeds to boost the remaining division. The peripherals business includes all keyboards and mice, including gaming and office models. Switches are separate from this and are part o...