Sony Slashing 8,000 Jobs

[ksimons]

Source: Yahoo

TOKYO – Sony is slashing 8,000 jobs, or 4 percent of its global work force, aiming to cut costs by $1.1 billion a year as a global downturn and stronger yen batters profits at the Japanese electronics maker.

Sony Corp. , which has 185,000 employees worldwide, said Tuesday it will complete the layoffs by the end of March, 2010. It did not give a country breakdown for the job cuts but said they will come from its electronics business, which has 160,000 workers.

Sony will end production at some plants, including one in France that makes tape and other recording media and will continue moving electronics production to lower-cost countries. Manufacturing sites will be reduced by about 10 percent from 57 today.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_sony

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Global problems with the best companies, like Sony, makes it harder for Republicans to 'blame' GM, Ford & Chrysler for EVERYTHING regarding the big 3's problems, albeit they are partially responsible for market share losses.

[pam4water]

1. They have (or had) a facility to the south of Pittsburgh PA. I wonder if it's stil there.

[truthisfreedom]

2. The end of tape?

I used to have a recording studio. SOB!

[madrchsod]

3. sony moves production back to cheapest south east asian labor....

hmmm..india or viet nam?

[Roland99]

4. It's actually *16,000* jobs...8,000 are apparently contractors

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aZIqcnQCtHWQ&refer=asia

The cuts include 8,000 full-time employees, or 5 percent of the company’s electronics workforce, and another 8,000 part-time and seasonal workers, Sony said.

[MindPilot]

5. they sure as hell can't blame the unions

Sony has few--if any--union shops.

When are they going to admit that the fundamental problem is that people don't have the money to by the products?

[undeterred]

6. We're sharing the misery worldwide.

[OhioChick]

7. Ouch.....and so it continues. n/t