Sony Ericsson plans to cut another 2,000 jobs on top of 2,000 lay-offs just completed. The new job losses form part of a third round of cost reductions, which is trying to squeeze €400 million out of its operating savings by mid-2010, after already cutting €380 million from its cost base in the past year. Another €200 million in charges are needed for the new round of restructuring.
The news followed Q1 results showing its handset sales were down 35% from same period a year, dropping to 14.5 million units. Sony Ericsson's share of the global phone market fell another 2 points from Q4 to around 6%.
Revenues were down 36% year-on-year to €1.74 billion, and the company moved to a net loss of €293 million versus a profit of €133 million a year ago. The pre-tax loss of €358 million was in line with the earlier guidance of €340-390 million.
The company maintained a forecast for the global handset market to contract bout 10% in volume this year.