Sony to Cut 15 Percent of Mobile Unit Staff This Fiscal Year: CEO

Sony Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai said on Wednesday his company would cut 15 percent of the staff in its mobile unit in the current fiscal year ending in March 2015.

Hirai, speaking to reporters, said Sony had aimed to expand the mobile division, but was now revising its strategy.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sony deepened its net loss estimate to $2.1 billion and said it would not pay a dividend this fiscal year for the first time since it listed in 1958, stung by an impairment charge for its struggling smartphone division. Its previous forecast was for a $466 million (JPY 50 billion) net loss.

Sony has also cut expectations for sales in the smartphone business, which has been reporting operating losses as it faces off against global rivals including Apple and South Korea's Samsung.

"The new MRP (Mid-Range Plan) was modified to address the significant change in the market and competitive environment of the mobile business," Sony said in a statement.

Sony has been trying to reshape its business after years of losses. It said the bigger loss stems from a lower accounting valuation of its mobile phone business due to weaker than expected sales. The company is recording a "goodwill impairment charge" of 180 billion yen ($1.7 billion) in the July-September quarter.

Sony left its full-year sales forecast unchanged at JPY 7.8 trillion ($72.8 billion).

Sony reported a JPY 128.4 billion loss in the fiscal year that ended March 31.

The profit warning follows a surprise eightfold jump in Sony's quarterly profit in July thanks to gains from selling buildings and its stake in a video-game maker.

Written with agency inputs