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Sony UPDATE1(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, April 9 -- (Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING DETAILS, INFO) Sony Corp. plans to slash around 10,000 jobs, or 6 percent of its group employees worldwide, in the fiscal year through March next year, sources familiar with the matter said Monday, as the company steps up restructuring efforts to turn its business around. The major Japanese electronics company, which has announced it will sell its chemical business to focus resources on its core electronics business, will further cut employees other than those related to such steps. The plan comes as the company projects it will fall into the red for the fourth consecutive year with a consolidated net loss of 220 billion yen in the business year ended March 31. All seven Sony executive officers who were in their posts in fiscal 2011 are expected to give up their bonuses for that year as a way of accepting management responsibility, the sources said. President Kazuo Hirai, who succeeded Howard Stringer on April 1, is slated to hold a press briefing Thursday to unveil specific measures to rebuild the company's business. Sony aims to turn around by implementing workforce reductions in addition to the selection and concentration of businesses and the restructuring of its TV business, which is likely to post losses for the eighth consecutive year. Other Japanese electronics manufacturers are also facing personnel and wage reductions due to sluggish performance amid the slump in TV and other businesses. Among them, Panasonic Corp. reduced its group employees to less than 350,000 by the end of fiscal 2011, a year ahead of schedule. NEC Corp. plans to shed around 10,000 jobs worldwide within the group and cut monthly wages by 4 percent from April through December as part of its restructuring efforts. Sony expects to reduce around 5,000 employees after integrating its small and medium-sized liquid crystal display panel business with those of Toshiba Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. earlier this month and selling its chemical business to the government-owned Development Bank of Japan in the October-December period this year. The company is considering slashing the remaining 5,000 jobs in a wide range of categories including production and sales, the sources said. (c) 2012 Kyodo News International, Inc. |