Sony cuts 5,000 jobs, exits PC business and tips $1bn loss
On Thursday Sony warned it would book a $1.08 billion annual loss and cut 5,000 jobs while exiting the stagnant PCmarket this year as the once-mighty electronics giant struggles to reinvent itself in the digital age.
The shock news comes a week after Moody’s downgraded the firm’s credit ratingto junk, saying the maker of Bravia televisions and the PlayStation games console had more work to do in repairing its battered balance sheet.
It also comes as Japan’s embattled electronics sector faces serious challenges from foreign rivals such as US giant Apple and South Korea’s Samsung.
Sony said Thursday the job cuts would save about $1.0 billion a year starting from early 2015 as it announced the sale of its Vaio-brand PC division to a Japanese investment fund.
It did not disclose financial details of the deal with Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), but local media this week reported that the sale was worth between 40 billion yen ($400 million) and 50 billion yen.
Sony chief Kazuo Hirai, who is due to hold a press briefing later Thursday, has shrugged off pleas to abandon the television unit. The firm last year turned down a call from US hedge fund boss Daniel Loeb to spin off 20 percent of its entertainment arm, which includes a Hollywood film studio, to boost profits.
Hirai’s efforts to turn the firm around got a boost in the year to March 2013 after after it posted a small net profit after four years in the red. However, that was largely due t ..
Sony cuts 5,000 jobs, exits PC business and tips $1bn loss