Sony raises forecast for restructuring costs (20,000 Japanese jobs cut)

[UpInArms]

http://www.iht.com/cgi-bin/generic.cgi?template=articleprint.tmplh&ArticleId=511336

TOKYO Sony, the world's second-largest consumer-electronics maker, said Monday that reorganization costs would rise to ¥175 billion, or $1.6 billion, this business year as more workers than expected chose early retirement.

Sony estimated earlier that the changes would cost ¥150 billion for the year ending March 31. Sony said in a filing to the Tokyo Stock Exchange that it did not intend to change a three-year cost target of ¥335 billion.

About 20,000 jobs are being shed as part of Sony's efforts to raise average profitability to about 10 percent of sales in three years, from about 2.5 percent last business year.

<snip>

Sony expects the reductions in its staff numbers to save the company ¥90 billion next business year, compared with the earlier forecast of ¥80 billion, said Tom Yanagi, a company spokesman in Tokyo. He declined to comment on whether Sony would revise its earnings forecast.

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Guess that recovery is spreading.

[Kagemusha]

1. If you hadn't heard, this has been coming for a long time.

Sometimes it's not "the recovery". Sometimes it's a company-speficic situation. This is a company-specific situation.