Sony slashes 8000 jobs

Aiming to cut costs by $1.1billion a year, the electronics manufacturer said it would complete the layoffs by the end of March 2010. Sony, which has 185,000 employees worldwide, didn’t give a country breakdown for the job cuts but said they will come from its electronics business, which has 160,000 workers. Despite Sony’s lowered inventories, the company has been hit hard by weak exports to the US and Europe, as well as the strength of the Yen against other major currencies. However, Katsuhiko Mori from Daiwa SB Investments told Reuters there may be more bad news ahead. “The number sounds big, but this staff reduction won’t be enough,” he commented. “Sony doesn’t have any core businesses that generate stable profits. After the workforce reduction, the next thing we want to see is what is going to be the business that will drive the company.” This year, Sony’s shares have fallen nearly 70%.