Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jul. 01, 2017	Jul. 02, 2016	Jul. 01, 2017	Jul. 02, 2016
Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 644,892	$ 590,051	$ 1,251,150	$ 1,160,657
Costs of products sold	471,929	443,923	917,312	877,220
Gross profit	172,963	146,128	333,838	283,437
Selling, general, and administrative expenses	90,446	92,253	185,164	182,539
Restructuring and severance costs	481	4,467	1,950	10,942
Operating income	82,036	49,408	146,724	89,956
Other income (expense):
Interest expense	(7,076)	(6,270)	(13,866)	(12,736)
Other	749	2,256	353	3,035
Gain on early extinguishment of debt	0	986	0	4,597
Loss on disposal of equity affiliate			(7,060)	0
Nonoperating Income (Expense), Total	(6,327)	(3,028)	(20,573)	(5,104)
Income before taxes	75,709	46,380	126,151	84,852
Income tax expense	19,300	13,151	32,793	23,471
Net earnings	56,409	33,229	93,358	61,381
Less: net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests	219	143	449	281
Net earnings attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 56,190	$ 33,086	$ 92,909	$ 61,100
Basic earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 0.38	$ 0.22	$ 0.63	$ 0.41
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 0.36	$ 0.22	$ 0.60	$ 0.41
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic	146,381	147,643	146,328	147,739
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted	155,300	149,845	155,088	150,237
Cash dividends per share	$ 0.0625	$ 0.0625	$ 0.1250	$ 0.1250