Sony cutting another 1,000 jobs in smartphone business
Sony is to cut a further 1,000 jobs in its smartphone business, according to reports from Japan.
Earlier in the month, it was reported that Sony was considering ditching its mobile business, as that portion of the company continues to be a major drain on its overall profitability.
Now a new report from Japan’s Nikkei business daily claims that the company is slashing its mobile work force dramatically. As many as 1,000 jobs could go, mainly in the division’s Europe and China outposts.
If this sounds at all familiar, it’s because back in October Sony revealed that it would be cutting 1,000 jobs in its mobile division. However, the report claims that this latest round of cuts will be in addition to those earlier ones.
As Reuters reports, this means that Sony’s mobile division will shrink by around 30 percent by the end of the next fiscal year in March 2016. That will leave just 5,000 workers operating in Sony’s mobile division.
Sony is expecting to lose 230 billion yen (around £1.3 billion) in this current fiscal year, which wraps up in March. The company’s failing mobile division is a major part of that, as is its under-performing TV division.
Read More: Why Sony might abandon mobile
This is why Sony is reportedly looking into the possibility of selling both divisions to the highest bidder, much as it did with its Vaio PC arm last year.
Such a move would free up the company’s successful divisions – specifically its gaming business and its camera component business – to restore the fallen giant to profitability.