Turning black: Sony to slash 10,000 jobs

Japan’s Sony Corp is likely to cut 10,000 jobs, about 6% of its workforce, The Nikkei reported on Monday, as new CEO Kazuo Hirai looks to steer the electronics and entertainment giant back to profit after four years in the red.

TV makers in particular have been hit hard by the tough business climate in the country as well as sharp price falls, with Sony, Panasonic and Sharp expecting to have lost a combined $17 billion in the fiscal year just ended.

Investors will monitor a briefing on Thursday by Hirai, who formally took over this month as CEO from Howard Stringer, for further clues on how Sony plans to revamp its business.

“Under a new CEO, it’s easier to cut jobs or go in a new direction,” said Yuuki Sakurai, head of fund manager Fukoku Capital, which had around $7 billion worth of assets under management as of end-March 2011, and which holds a small stake in Sony.

The Nikkei said half of the latest round of job cuts would come from consolidating the firm’s chemicals and small and midsize LCD operations.
Sony declined to comment.

The company has forecast a 220 billion yen ($2.7 billion) net loss for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012.