Tokyo, Tuesday 09 Dec 2008: Sony is slashing 8,000 jobs, or 4% of its global work force, aiming to cut costs by $1.1 billion a year as a global downturn and stronger yen batters profits at the Japanese electronics maker.

Sony Corp, which has 185,000 employees worldwide, said Tuesday it would complete the layoffs by the end of March 2010. It did not give a country breakdown for the job cuts but said they will come from its electronics business, which has 160,000 workers.

The company, maker of the Walkman portable player and PlayStation 3 game console, also has movie, video game and financial businesses.

Sony’s announcement comes amid a slew of similar news from Japanese manufacturers, who face nose-diving demand at home and abroad.

Plunging gadget prices, currency fluctuations, intense competition and a global slowdown in consumer spending has hurt the electronics industry.

The company makes about 80% of its sales overseas and is vulnerable to a stronger yen, which erodes foreign earnings. The dollar has sunk to about 93 yen from 117 yen last year.

The job cuts and other changes will deliver more than 100 billion yen ($1.1. billion) in cost savings a year by March 2010, according to Sony.

Sony will end production at some plants, including one in France that makes tape and other recording media and will continue moving electronics production to lower-cost countries. Manufacturing sites will be reduced by about 10% from 57 today.

Sony will also trim spending in semiconductors, and will outsource a portion of the production it had planned for image sensors for mobile phones.