Sony Ericsson Cuts 450 Jobs in the USA

As part of earlier announced plans, Sony Ericsson is to lay off 450 staff at its US headquarters in North Carolina. The company held a staff meeting at a local hotel to announce the job cuts, which will halve the company's workforce in the country.

Aldo Ligouri, Sony EricssonĂ's head of global communications and public relations, confirmed the layoffs. Ligouri says the RTP cuts are part of cost cutting which was announced by Sony Ericsson in July. A total of 2,000 jobs are expected to be cut worldwide, in a measure which will save some US$422 million per year.

The company employs some 750 staff at the Research Triangle Park industrial park - which also serves as a key Sony Ericsson R&D hub.

"Sony Ericsson recognizes that market conditions have changed very rapidly and action must be taken to ensure that it can remain competitive in the dynamic and fast-paced telecommunications industry. Today the company confirms that it is beginning to implement a plan to align its operations and resources worldwide to meet an increasingly competitive business environment and to help restore its capability for profitable growth," the company said in a statement.

Sony Ericsson's second-quarter net profit fell to EUR6 million from EUR220 million a year prior due to slowing growth in mature markets, including Europe and the USA. Sony Ericsson's results were largely prefigured in its June profit warning - its second this year - when it said slower growth in Western Europe would hurt earnings.

Posted to the site on 30th September 2008