Sony Corp. is forecasting a second straight year of losses as the global recession batters demand for consumer electronics.
The Japanese company said on Thursday it would close 14% of its 57 manufacturing sites this year, slightly more than it previously announced, but it stood by its plan to slash more than 300 billion yen ($3.2 billion) in costs this financial year.
The cost-cutting measures include a reduction of 16,000 jobs. Sony said it will shut three more domestic and two overseas factories this year, including a flat-screen TV factory in Mexicali, Mexico. That brings the total of its planned plant closure to eight as it had already announced plans to stop production at three factories.
Some analysts said Sony, which is feeling the pain in every corner of its operations ranging from semiconductors to movies to insurance, desperately needed a killer product to get back on track and position itself for any recovery.
The electronic giant announced Thursday a net loss during its 2008 fiscal year of 98.9 billion yen ($1.03 billion) and said that it would go further into the red during the current accounting year.
Sony India to focus on LCD market
Shifting its focus to LCDs to fuel growth, Sony India plans to phase out cathode ray tube (CRT TVs) and would invest Rs 60 crore as promotional expense for its new range 'Bravia' in 2009-10 which was launched on Wednesday.
The company has already stopped production of CRT TVs and is in the process of exhausting the stock with dealers.
Financial Express article
