Sony CEO: We must now make tough choices

Sony’s new chief executive Kaz Hirai has told investors the struggling electronics giant “cannot shy away from difficult decisions”, as the company prepares to axe about 10,000 jobs.

The sweeping layoff operation is seen as Sony’s first hard-hitting maneuver as it tries to solve its hemorrhaging cash flow.

Hirai and executives have doubled Sony’s annual loss forecast to $6.4 billion, marking its fourth successive year of red ink.

The company expects it will return to profit by March 2013.

Weak TV sales, production disruptions and the strong yen were blamed for Sony’s extraordinary financial loss.

Axing about 10,000 jobs will cost Sony about £600 million in restructuring and redundancies, while the company expects to slash its operating expenses by a third.

It is unclear how much Sony’s PlayStation division will be affected by the cutbacks.

The company recently closed its Washington studio Zipper Interactive, but this could nevertheless be a unrelated matter. The development group specialised in the military FPS genre, which the likes of EA and Activision currently has a stronghold over.

"We have heard a multitude of investor voices calling for change," Hirai told a packed news conference in Tokyo.

"Sony will change," he said.