Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jul. 04, 2020	Jun. 29, 2019	Jul. 04, 2020	Jun. 29, 2019
Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 581,717	$ 685,240	$ 1,194,558	$ 1,430,399
Costs of products sold	451,047	510,639	916,648	1,044,639
Gross profit	130,670	174,601	277,910	385,760
Selling, general, and administrative expenses	89,127	95,112	188,959	198,536
Restructuring and severance costs	743	0	743	0
Operating income	40,800	79,489	88,208	187,224
Other income (expense):
Interest expense	(8,430)	(8,204)	(16,982)	(16,596)
Other	(1,484)	(397)	(1,286)	1,515
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	(1,146)	0	(4,066)	(1,307)
Total other income (expense)	(11,060)	(8,601)	(22,334)	(16,388)
Income before taxes	29,740	70,888	65,874	170,836
Income tax expense	4,845	26,153	13,595	50,460
Net earnings	24,895	44,735	52,279	120,376
Less: net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests	242	258	407	440
Net earnings attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 24,653	$ 44,477	$ 51,872	$ 119,936
Basic earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.17	$ 0.31	$ 0.36	$ 0.83
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.17	$ 0.31	$ 0.36	$ 0.83
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic (in shares)	144,846	144,621	144,818	144,589
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted (in shares)	145,170	145,023	145,232	145,158
Cash dividends per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.095	$ 0.095	$ 0.19	$ 0.18