Loss-making Japanese electronics giant Sony is taking additional steps to accelerate structural reforms of its headquarters and electronics business operations in Japan.

The company is consolidating manufacturing operations and expediting measures to reduce its headcount. Earlier this year, Sony said the combination of these structural reforms and a business portfolio realignment would reduce group-wide staff numbers by some 10,000 worldwide by March 2013.

Among the measures undertaken to date are integration and consolidation of sales offices and resource optimisation in sales and marketing organisations, primarily in Japan, the US and Europe.

As the proportion of Sony’s finished products being produced at its overseas manufacturing sites and by external ODM/OEM vendors continues to increase, Sony has been consolidating sites at home to better reflect the current scale of production.

In order to enhance the efficiency of Sony’s manufacturing operations relating to its digital imaging business, the manufacture of interchangeable lenses and lens blocks currently being conducted at Sony EMCS Minokamo site in Gifu Prefecture will be absorbed by EMCS Kohda site in Aichi Prefecture.

As Sony concentrates its mobile phone business on smartphones, the operations currently being carried out at the Minokamo site relating to mobile phones will be partially discontinued and partially transferred to Sony EMCS Kisarazu site.

As a result of this realignment, the Minokamo site is scheduled to close at the end of March 2013. 

GB