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Large losses to lead to Sony layoffs for 10K employees

Posted by MarlonJ on Mon, 16/04/2012 - 04:35
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Sony has publicized that the business is going to lay off 10,000 employees. The business has been hemorrhaging cash for the last four years and is trying to find a way to stem the dismal tide of losses. Article resource: 10K workers to get pink slips in Sony layoffs

The mighty are despairing

Millions of the Walkman, Discman and PlayStations 1, 2, and 3 were sold by Sony. The business also was very successful when producing films and televisions programs. It is one of the most well-known entertainment corporations out there.

Unfortunately, success cannot last forever. The company is worth $20 billion now, which is a huge decrease from the $200 billion it was worth in 2000. Fewer people have been interested in electronics in the last few years as well.

Problems from disasters

Sony has not been able to get products to the industry, which was another reason why the company had massive losses last year. This inability to get products on the market came from the disasters in Japan and flooding in Thailand, according to Daily Mail.

[One can always get payday-loans in a pinch]

During the last quarter of calendar year 2011, Sony posted a loss of $2.1 billion, according to CBS, and Sony is projecting a loss of $2.7 billion for the fiscal year that ended in March. In reaction to the losses, Sony is going to combine some of its operations, such as selling off its holdings in chemical manufacturing. Sony’s liquid-crystal display, or LCD, division was already spun off this year into Japan Display, Inc., according to MarketWatch, a joint venture between Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba.

Sony is not just selling its chemical operations, which were sold to the Development Bank of Japan, but it has also asked top executives to return bonuses. It will reduce its workforce by 10,000 people as well, according to MSNBC.

Firing in the last

Sony has gone through workforce reductions before. In December of 2008, the business laid off 16,000 employees at the depths of the recession.

The upcoming reductions in staff are slated to take place over a period of two years. Half of the layoffs are likely to take place in Sony’s chemicals and LCD operations, while those companies are being restructured.

Sources

Bloomberg

Daily Mail

CBS

MarketWatch: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sony-is-said-planning-to-cut-6-of-jobs-...

MSNBC: http://marketday.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/09/11092732-report-sony-to-...

 

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Marlon Jenkins

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Editor's Note - May 10

Had a busy week with two days at the Responsible Business Summit in London. What struck me was the appetite for sustainability in the corporate world. I spoke to senior figures from multinationals who knew wholeheartedly that businesses in the future would not succeed if the society around them failed.

Much of this appetite was understandably focused on collaboration - the future of sustainability. Words that were previously indicative of success - power, might, scale, size - are no longer enough in the open source, peer-reviewed future where opponents will not simply grumble and moan and then leave you in peace. Companies must work with governments, NGOs, charities and social enterprises as a matter of course. And even competitors, where necessary.

Facilitating this collaboration is the big challenge of the next five years. Highly-strung and ego-centric companies, feverish with the need to protect their brand, will struggle the most, but it's either adapt or die.

The business/charity relationship is one of the most interesting focal points. Business power can drive positive social change in so many ways but charities are the key holders to communities. As businesses are expected more and more to play a stake in the future, charity partnerships should be top of the corporate priority list. Businesses that don't work closely with a charity will find themselves with reputational problems.

There's a lot more to CSR, of course, but collaboration is the bedding on which CSR will rest. Businesses can no longer find the answers to all their problems in their own resources and assets.

And for many that's a scary thought.

Any thoughts, thoughts or questions, drop me a line on editor@hrzone.co.uk.

Best wishes

Jamie