Sony to shut TV plant in Japan, cut 2,000 jobs: report

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Sony Corp. (SNE:

http://www.marketwatch.com/portfolio/add.asp?symbs=SNE&dist=mktwstoryaddportfolio',%20'mktw')">

21.98, +0.45, +2.1%)plans to close one of its two television factories in Japan and cut more than 2,000 full-time jobs, The Nikkei said on its Web site in a report dated Thursday. Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Stringer will announce the closure at a news conference later Thursday, where he is also expected to lower the firm's fiscal 2008 earnings outlook, the Japanese newspaper reported. 

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/sony-shut-tv-plant-japan/story.aspx?guid={D0B429CB-3F7B-4C51-9238-183ECAB63B2B}&dist=msr_2

 

Entire restructuring plan expected to be announced tomorrow.(Japan time?) Unfortunate for the workers, but sony should have made these changes ages ago.

i feel bad for those 2000 people =/
sucks really

was this ALL due to the ps3 or due to other stuff in the company?

A little more info here:

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Sony Corp. plans to close one of two television factories and cut more than 2,000 full-time jobs in Japan, according to a Japanese media report.

Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Stringer will announce the move at a news conference Thursday, when he will also downgrade the firm's fiscal 2008 earnings outlook, Japanese business daily Nikkei said on its Web site, in a report dated Thursday.

The Japanese electronics maker is expected to report its first operating loss in 14 years as demand for flat-screen televisions and other consumer products sags and profit margins are pared by a strong yen. Read more on Sony's outlook.

Last month, Sony revealed plans for a sweeping overhaul, centered on cutting more than 16,000 jobs worldwide.

Sony's TV production is limited to two factories in Japan's Aichi prefecture, operated by subsidiary Sony EMCS Corp. Production will cease at one of the two, with the deactivated plant likely to be used for distribution and other purposes, the Nikkei report said

The company has not restructured its Japanese manufacturing base since 2006, when it closed a portable music-player factory.

Sony also aims to eliminate roughly 3% of its domestic full-time staff, or more than 2,000 workers in Japan, by the end of the fiscal year ending in March 2010. Though the job losses will be due to natural attrition, Sony plans to limit hiring and introduce an early-retirement incentive program later this year, the report added.

In a separate cost-cutting move, executive- and managerial-level bonuses will be slashed next fiscal year, Nikkei said.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/sony-shut-tv-plant-cut/story.aspx?guid={452E6A1F-84FA-49A5-BFFA-7D46DDDA75AF}&dist=msr_1&print=true&dist=printMidSection

Yet they just opened a new BR factory in China, Sony is doomed doomed I tell you.

Production is moving out of expensive Japan, hope they will open factories in E Europe not just china. Much rather buy products from there.

So given the times any one think i can score a 60/60" tv for a really good deal anywhere ? lcd or plasma it dont matter.

Really and I'm sure FishyJoe agrees with me, if one person is gonna post a comment that sounds even remotely like "haha, Sony will go bankrupt!" he or she will get a ban.

Some of us may be into this console war thing but we are talking about 2,000 people losing their jobs. Those people lost the cornerstone of their life; imagine you'd be in their situation.

Is Japan Sony's current stronghold? I mean I know they are Japanese but do they produce the majority of their goods their?

No, most electronics are built in China. However in China manufacturing is usually not done by Sony, but by contractors like Foxconn/Honhai.

^Yea
They gotta do what they gotta do though

That's 12.5-25% of the 8,000-16,000 layoffs they announced in December. And that's just for the electronics division :S

It seems the general consensus by most analysts who crunched the numbers that the 16,000 layoffs won't be enough. I have a feeling there will be more announced either today or after earnings. Not only job cuts, but they are going to have to sell assets, to whom I don't know.

It will be interesting to see if they lay out all the bad news today or at earnings.