So the reports have proven to be true: Sony has now officially said
that it will be reducing its headcount by 10,000 people worldwide, some
six percent of its workforce, as the struggling electronics giant
reorganizes under new management and its new “One Sony” plan.
Sony says the employee reductions will be made over the course of
this fiscal year, and will also include some employees leaving the
company through sale and transfer. Meanwhile, the organizational
restructuring will see Sony strengthen its focus on the core units of
digital imaging, gaming and mobile; attempt to turn around its ailing TV
business and expand in emerging markets. Altogether Sony estimates that
the restructuring will cost it ¥75 billion ($926 million).
Sony has a huge task ahead of it: it is coming into this new
financial year (which started on April 1) with a $6.4 billion loss for FY 2012.
Once a gold standard for consumer electronics, the company will have to
work hard to convince those who have strayed away from the brand that
it is still current and still setting the pace in the field.
