Sony Expects to Weather Slump Without Drastic Cuts

TOKYO —  Sony Corp. said today it expects to weather the global economic slowdown without firing tens of thousands of workers, as its Japanese rivals must, because it is already cutting costs and has closed many of its factories.

“We took those measures years ago,” said Kunitake Ando, president of the second-largest consumer electronics maker. “We don’t need to rush a restructuring like others are doing in such a hurry.”

Sony, which had 190,000 workers worldwide at the end of March 2000, is resisting a tide of cuts that have claimed more than 60,000 jobs at electronics companies such as NEC Corp., Fujitsu Ltd., Toshiba Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. They’re joining global rivals confronting slumping demand for everything from computers to chips that store data in mobile phones.

Sony does plan to step up cost-cutting measures, Ando said. It intends to cut spending on marketing products and purchasing electronics, for example.

Sony had an unexpected loss in the three months ended June 30 as demand for televisions and mobile phones fell, prompting the company to cut its annual forecast 40% and to reduce spending. It expects a full-year profit of $755 million.

In the U.S., Sony may cut jobs in its consumer electronics and music businesses, spokesman Kei Sakaguchi said last month. The U.S. accounts for 30% of sales for Sony, whose products include the PlayStation 2 video-game console and the Vaio series of personal computers.

Sony closed 13 manufacturing plants for electronics products worldwide since March 1999, reducing the number of those plants to 57. It has said it wants to shut a total of 15 by March 2003.

Last October, Sony sold two plants--one in Japan and the other in Taiwan--to Solectron Corp., the largest maker of electronics goods for other companies. Those plants, with a combined 2,050 workers, make lithium ion batteries and car navigation and car audio equipment.

Sony’s American depositary receipts closed down $1.02 at $44.90 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. They are down 35% so far this year.