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September 22, 2004 – Sony will cut 7 percent of its workforce by March 2008, the company announced yesterday in Tokyo. After late entries into the digital music and flat-screen television market, Sony is restructuring to offset the predicted net loss of $90 million in the current fiscal year. The company reorganized its management team in March, promoting Sir Howard Stringer - the former leader of Sony’s U.S. operations – to be the firm’s first non-Japanese CEO.
Of Sony’s worldwide pool of 151,400 employees, it will cut 10,000 jobs. 4,000 of those jobs will go from Japan. The company will also shut down 11 of its 65 manufacturing plants. These moves are all part of a bigger restructuring process.
"This a pivotal year for Sony Corporation, and this new structure will enable the company to streamline its operation, and provide a more cohesive focus for operating its businesses around the world in a more proactive and strategic manner," read a March 7 press release from Sony Corporation. In the last fiscal year, Sony Corporation had $67 billion of sales; $18.4 billion of that came from the subsidiary in the United States.