Eastman Kodak announced on Thursday that the company will no longer manufacturer digital cameras following it’s bankruptcy filing and loss generating revenues from the company’s currently handhelds.
The move ends an era at Kodak in which the company invented the first hand-held camera and handed out bonuses large enough for some employees to buy new vehicles for cash.
Kodak announced that following Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection it will stop making pocket video cameras and digital picture frames.
Executives at the company say the expulsion of such devices is the next “logical extension” for the company’s currently strategy and will save them $100 million annually.
While Kodak currently receives three quarters of its revenue from digital offerings the company now plans to shift efforts to licensing the company’s brand name alongside the in-house sale of photo printing and desktop printers.
While Kodak is exiting the digital camera business it has promised to continue honoring warranties on cameras that have alrady been sold to customers.
Since opening for business in 1880 Kodak has created some of the most innovative camera technology on the market including the first digital cameras to feature built-in WiFi connections and touch-screens as well as docking stations that made transferring photos to a users computer far easier.
By exiting the digital camera business the company is expected to take a one-time charge of $30 million.
Still in operation will be the company’s retail-based photo kiosks and dry lab systems for which Kodak operates more than 100,000 locations around the world.
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