Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Oct. 01, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Oct. 01, 2016
Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 677,883	$ 591,955	$ 1,929,033	$ 1,752,612
Costs of products sold	488,610	438,054	1,405,922	1,315,274
Gross profit	189,273	153,901	523,111	437,338
Selling, general, and administrative expenses	93,701	93,916	278,865	276,455
Restructuring and severance costs	3,244	1,197	5,194	12,139
Impairment of Intangible Assets	0	1,559	0	1,559
Operating income	92,328	57,229	239,052	147,185
Other income (expense):
Interest expense	(6,938)	(6,165)	(20,804)	(18,901)
Other	798	(380)	1,151	2,655
Gain on early extinguishment of debt			0	4,597
Loss on disposal of equity affiliate			(7,060)	0
Nonoperating Income (Expense), Total	(6,140)	(6,545)	(26,713)	(11,649)
Income before taxes	86,188	50,684	212,339	135,536
Income tax expense	21,605	14,088	54,398	37,559
Net earnings	64,583	36,596	157,941	97,977
Less: net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests	179	156	628	437
Net earnings attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 64,404	$ 36,440	$ 157,313	$ 97,540
Basic earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 0.44	$ 0.25	$ 1.08	$ 0.66
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 0.41	$ 0.24	$ 1.01	$ 0.65
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic	145,728	146,924	146,128	147,470
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted	156,701	149,894	155,626	150,125
Cash dividends per share	$ 0.0625	$ 0.0625	$ 0.1875	$ 0.1875