Sony has been struggling in the smartphone market since the past few years and has been posting losses for several quarters. In April last year, Kenichiro Yoshida took over as the chief executive officer of Sony and unveiled a three-year plan for the company which indicated that the company is moving away from manufacturing gadgets.
Now, in a move which seems to be in line with that strategy, Sony’s mobile division has withdrawn from most of the smartphone market worldwide. The primary reason for this is believed to be the company’s focus on brand building and profitability.
The move, which is reportedly stemmed after the Corporate Strategy Meeting FY2019, is believed to be the part of a relatively short-term plan through March 31, 2019, and is intended to help the company cut operating costs in order to regain profitability.
As per the report, the Japanese company is aiming to cut its operating costs by at least half as compared to 2017. As a result of that drastic reduction, the company’s sole remaining ‘focus regions’ will now be Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong in Asia as well as Europe. The US and the northern segment of the Asian continent are now partially.
Earlier this year, in March, Sony was reportedly planning to merge the mobile division with the other divisions which include the camera, TV, and audio, in order to keep recording millions in profits. The new division will be called Electronics Products and Solutions and should result in technologies being exchanged between future products.
Read More: Sony Xperia 1 flagship smartphone launched in China for 6,299 Yuan (approximately $910)
A couple of months ago, it was reported that the mobile phone division of Japanese tech giant will lay off half of its staff within a year. Sony Xperia, which has a staff strength of 4,000, will be reduced to 2,000 workers between now and March 2020.
(Via)
