Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 28, 2019	Sep. 29, 2018	Sep. 28, 2019	Sep. 29, 2018
Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 628,329	$ 780,972	$ 2,058,728	$ 2,258,797
Costs of products sold	478,250	544,676	1,522,889	1,589,963
Gross profit	150,079	236,296	535,839	668,834
Selling, general, and administrative expenses	91,796	98,198	290,332	303,381
Restructuring and severance costs	7,255	0	7,255	0
Operating income	51,028	138,098	238,252	365,453
Other income (expense):
Interest expense	(8,564)	(10,813)	(25,160)	(26,862)
Other components of net periodic pension cost	(3,348)	(3,367)	(10,111)	(10,336)
Other	5,066	2,890	13,344	5,440
Loss on early extinguishment of debt			(1,307)	(17,309)
Total other income (expense)	(6,846)	(11,290)	(23,234)	(49,067)
Income before taxes	44,182	126,808	215,018	316,386
Income tax expense	13,917	48,737	64,377	72,508
Net earnings	30,265	78,071	150,641	243,878
Less: net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests	227	195	667	539
Net earnings attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 30,038	$ 77,876	$ 149,974	$ 243,339
Basic earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.21	$ 0.54	$ 1.04	$ 1.69
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.21	$ 0.51	$ 1.03	$ 1.55
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic (in shares)	144,628	144,383	144,602	144,364
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted (in shares)	145,027	152,946	145,114	156,702
Cash dividends per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.0950	$ 0.0850	$ 0.2750	$ 0.2375