Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Oct. 01, 2016	Oct. 03, 2015	Oct. 01, 2016	Oct. 03, 2015
Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 591,955	$ 560,654	$ 1,752,612	$ 1,744,560
Costs of products sold	438,054	430,510	1,315,274	1,327,896
Gross profit	153,901	130,144	437,338	416,664
Selling, general, and administrative expenses	93,916	88,995	276,455	276,717
Restructuring and severance costs	1,197	2,324	12,139	9,394
Impairment of Intangible Assets	1,559	57,600	1,559	57,600
Impairment of goodwill	0	5,380	0	5,380
Operating income	57,229	(24,155)	147,185	67,573
Other income (expense):
Interest expense	(6,165)	(6,677)	(18,901)	(19,774)
Other	(380)	3,240	2,655	7,860
Loss related to Tianjin explosion	0	(5,350)	0	(5,350)
Gain on early extinguishment of debt			4,597	0
Nonoperating Income (Expense), Total	(6,545)	(8,787)	(11,649)	(17,264)
Income before taxes	50,684	(32,942)	135,536	50,309
Income tax expense	14,088	(5,392)	37,559	20,416
Net earnings	36,596	(27,550)	97,977	29,893
Less: net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests	156	116	437	592
Net earnings attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 36,440	$ (27,666)	$ 97,540	$ 29,301
Basic earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 0.25	$ (0.19)	$ 0.66	$ 0.20
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 0.24	$ (0.19)	$ 0.65	$ 0.19
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic	146,924	147,701	147,470	147,700
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted	149,894	147,701	150,125	151,607
Cash dividends per share	$ 0.0625	$ 0.0600	$ 0.1875	$ 0.1800