Tokyo, Oct 20: Japan's Sony Corp. plans to cut 15,000-20,000 jobs or about 10 per cent of its global group workforce by the end of March 2006, as it pulls out from unprofitable operations, a report said today. Sony will also cease domestic production of cathode-ray tubes for television sets by the end of next year, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, without citing sources.
The electronics giant will announce the moves on October 28 when it unveils new structural reform plans to be completed by the end of March 2006, the economic daily said.
Sony plans to make the job cuts from the global workforce of 160,000 by inviting early retirement and curbing hiring, it said.
The firm is considering cutting 1,500-2,000 payrolls on a parent-only basis, the paper said.
It intends to pull out of unprofitable and non-strategic operations, which account for more than 10 per cent of its business areas exceeding 100, it said.
Sony decided to withdraw from domestic production of television tubes because demand for conventional TVs is expected to decline on the back of rapid growth in flat-panel TVs, such as models with liquid crystal displays, it said.
Bureau Report