Layoffs And Retirements To Hit Sony’s US Headquarters

As we all know, Sony is in the middle of yet another restructuring and layoffs/early retirements are happening across the company. However, identifying exactly where the cuts within Sony that are occurring have been a bit of a mystery. The San Diego Business Journal wrote an article recently that speculates that several employees from the 2,000+ at Sony USA headquarters in San Diego, California will face job cuts. Furthermore, the Sony Consumer Sales Company, which managed Sony’s multibillion dollar U.S. consumer sales portfolio, is being eliminated and its president Jay Vandenbree is taking early retirement after 23 years.

Rick Clancy, a senior vice president who’s been with Sony for 19 years, is among those taking the company’s buyout offer, and plans to leave by June 1. Rick Clancy has been an enormous supporter of Sony Insider and we are very saddened to be losing such a great ally in the company. He was introduced to us via Sony VP Dave Migdal and interviewed us for the Sony blog. We also interviewed Rick in a very lengthy conversation that really shows his wisdom that made him a true asset to Sony.

The company is combining merchandising functions under a new “Customer Platform” headed by Mike Fasulo, who was chief marketing officer at Sony Electronics, and will report directly to CEO Stan Glasgow, a spokesman confirmed.

“What we’re doing is creating a new consumer sales and marketing platform that will encompass sales, marketing, customer service and some other functions,” said Rick Clancy, senior vice president of communications.

Another change is that Sony will no longer focus on dividing up sales by region, but will instead focus on national and specialty retailers.

“In terms of the major national accounts, there are fewer of them,” said Clancy. “On the other hand, for the specialty accounts we will have to be more nimble in order to fulfill their needs quicker; especially as it relates to selling our products.”

Ken Stevens, former VP for the central zone, will be senior vice president for national accounts. And Paul Spitale, former VP for the eastern zone, will be senior vice president for regional and specialty accounts. Dennis McTighe, who was western zone VP, appears to be leaving.

Japan In The Crosshairs First As Sony Job Cuts Begin To Unravel

Sony, which is expected to report its first annual operating loss in 14 years, plans to close one of its two Japanese TV factories and cut more than 2,000 full-time jobs, the Nikkei business daily reported. Chief Executive Howard Stringer will announce the move along with a cut in its earnings outlook at a news conference on Thursday.

Sony plans to eliminate about 3 percent of its domestic full-time staff, or more than 2,000 workers, mainly through to natural attrition, by the end of the financial year ending in March 2010, the Nikkei said. But talk of cutting jobs in Japan has met internal company resistance, the Financial Times reported this week.

Sony is looking at integrating TV assembly and production into one of the factories and use the other for distribution and other purposes, the Nikkei said. Both of the company’s TV plants in Japan are located in Aichi, central Japan. It would be the company’s first restructuring of its domestic manufacturing base since 2006 when it closed down a portable music player plant, the paper added.

The Nikkei also said Sony plans to slash executive and managerial-level bonuses to cut costs. (Reporting by Ted Kerr and Sachi Izumi, editing by Edwina Gibbs) Story courtesy of Reuters/Nikki.

Sony To Detail Specifics Of Layoffs This Week

Sony Corp is preparing to announce on Wednesday or Thursday details of its December restructuring plan, including where job cuts will fall, the Financial Times reported. The newspaper said Chief Executive Howard Stringer was facing resistance to cutting jobs in the electronics division and in Japan.

A Sony spokesman declined to comment on the report. Article courtesy of Reuters.