Sony Reportedly Plans to Hand Out 10,000 Pink Slips

Job cuts are an unfortunate part of doing business, especially when times get lean and investors grow antsy with dwindling profits (or increasing losses). When they do happen, you just hope too many people aren't affected. No such luck for Sony workers. The electronics juggernaut is reportedly getting ready to axe 10,000 workers, which represents 6 percent of its total global workforce.

According to Reuters, Sony's layoffs are the latest blow to Japan, which has seen a number of technology companies, including NEC and Panasonic, look at ways to cut costs. Everyone is trying to cope with a strong yen and intense competition from Apple and Samsung.


Like Panasonic and Sharp, Sony's TV business is taking a hit as of late. All three companies are expected to post a combined $17 billion loss for the previous fiscal year, which can attributed in part to falling prices. There might also be some market saturation to blame. Whereas it made sense for consumers to dump their bulky rear-projection HDTVs on eBay for Craiglist and buy a slimmer and sexier LCD panel several years ago, it's harder to justify moving from an LCD panel to an LED backlit display and/or a 3D TV.

It's unclear how many of Sony's pink slips will be handed out in Japan versus other parts of the world, though it appears the bulk of the cuts, if not all of them, will come from consolidating the company's chemicals and small and midsize LCD operations, Reuters reports.