Sony Mobile is laying off 1,000 employees and will also move its global HQ to Tokyo, as the company tries to turn around its dwindling fortunes in the smartphone space.
The reorganisation comes about six months after the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony, following Sony's acquisition of Ericsson's 50% stake in their joint venture, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications.
In October, Sony Mobile will move its corporate headquarters and other functions from Lund, Sweden to Tokyo. The Swedish town will be the hardest hit by the changes as around 650 employees there across a number of functions will be affected by the job cuts, according to a statement.
However, the Lund office will not be closed, as about 2,000 people will continue to work on software and application development, a Sony Mobile spokesman said.
The remaining headcount reductions will primarily consist of consultants in Sweden. The redundancies represent about 15% of Sony Mobile's global headcount, and the staff trimming is expected to be finished by the end of March 2014.
The goal is to save money to help the company become profitable, but Sony Mobile will have to convince more consumers to buy its devices for that to happen. It is now accelerating its integration and convergence with the wider Sony portfolio to help make its products more desirable, Sony Mobile CEO Kunimasa Suzuki said in a statement.
IDG News Service