Philips Research quits New York
March 18, 2015
By Chris Forrester
As part of a wider restructuring plan Philips Research is to close is prestigious Briarcliff R&D facility, in New York, which it has occupied since 1965, and where it still has some 125 employees. Staff will be offered positions in another facility owned by Philips at Cambridge, Mass.
Philips will sell the Briarcliffe campus, which overlooks the Hudson River. In its heyday Briarcliff had some 300 engineers and technicians and won 3 EMMY Awards for its contribution to the USA’s ‘Grand Alliance’ digital TV standard, and other developments. The facility also conducted extensive work for the Philips brand in North America which traded as Magnavox.
The news, reported in trade mag Display Daily, means another step away from consumer goods and an increased focus on lighting and health care products. Most of the Philips Consumer Electronics goods are now licensed and branded as Funai, TPV and Gibson.