Sony Announces Restructuring Plans
September 23, 2005
On September 22 Sony announced its long-awaited restructuring plan to make the company profitable again, with the consumer electronics division being the focus as it lags behind the entertainment and gaming units. Worldwide the company will cut 10,000 of 150,000 jobs - 4,000 in Japan and 6,000 overseas - and will reduce the number of manufacturing sites to 54 from 65. It will also slash the number of offerings by 20%, and focus on its most successful ones such as the PlayStation game consoles, high-resolution video cameras, and LCD televisions. Furthermore, the company structure will be centralized as the current leadership feels that the relative independence of many units within Sony prevents a smooth decision-making process. One of the main targets the company hopes to reach with the newly announced plans is to reach an operating profit margin of 5% in the fiscal year of 2007.