Sony has announced an annual operating loss of $1 billion, their first since 1995 when a faltering movie division accounted for the decline. This year the global economic crisis is to blame, according to Sony Chief Financial Office Nobuyuki Oneda, who explained, "The business environment has been extremely severe."
There’s more to come, as the electronics giant predicts further losses of $1.26 billion for the year ending March 2010. Annual Sony shares have fallen 12.9 percent.
In order to recoup losses, Sony CEO Howard Stringer will cut 16,000 jobs and close 10 percent of his company’s manufacturing plants.
Also, Panasonic last week announced that it posted a $4 billion loss for the fiscal year, its first in seven years. According to the Associated Press, the Japanese electronics giant expects to remain in the red this year as well.
The figure represented the 12-month period that ended in March. Operating profit dropped 86 percent while sales fell 14.4 percent. The performance was attributed mostly to falling demand for various products sold by the company, due to the struggling world economy.
