According to reports, Sony is preparing to recover part of its interests in the smartphone business. According to Nikkei Asian Review, the leading technology maker plans to cut half of its smartphone staff by 2020. Potential layoffs could leave 2,000 people unemployed, although the company is expected to transfer some of those workers to other divisions.
The cuts reported in Sony maybe should not come as a surprise. The Japanese technological giant has never been able to obtain an adequate position within the industry. The company’s smart phones have almost fallen into disgrace. While about 1,600 million smartphones were shipped during 2018, only 10 million of them were Sony devices, according to Statista. Despite the difficult sales, Sony introduced a new flagship phone, the Xperia 1, at the Mobile World Congress last month.
The rumors of layoffs will not be the first time that Sony has reduced its smartphone division. The company fired 2,000 employees in 2009 after closing four facilities where it produced smartphones. Cut another 1,000 jobs from the department in 2015 in response to overwhelming profits. With the latest cuts, it’s only fair to wonder how many more contractions the Sony smartphone group can handle before it closes its doors forever.
Source: Nikkei Asian Review Via Engadget