Sony will cut 8,000 jobs as sales sags

Electronics giant Sony, which is based in Tokyo, will cut jobs and curtail investments to save $1.1 billion annually. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

TOKYO - Sony Corp., the second-biggest consumer-electronics maker, plans to cut 8,000 full-time jobs as consumers curb spending on televisions, game machines, and music players.

The reductions represent 5 percent of the electronics workforce at Sony, and the company will also cut another 8,000 seasonal and part-time jobs. Sony said it will curtail investments, farm out production, and move away from unprofitable businesses by March 2010 to save more than $1.1 billion a year.

The move highlights the severity of the decline in consumer spending. Tokyo-based Sony, led by chief executive Howard Stringer, said a "much" larger-than-anticipated deterioration in the economy spurred the measures and the company may revise its profit targets.

"The company might suffer from a bigger earnings decline in the second half, or even losses, if it doesn't take any measures," said Hiroshi Sato, chief investment officer of Tokyo-based GCSAM Co., who sold his Sony holdings.