450 Down, 1550 To Go

Sony Ericsson will lay off 450 workers from its Research Triangle Park location, the headquarters of the company’s North American operations. Workers were told of the news Monday morning in a mandatory all-staff meeting at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham. Aldo Ligouri, Sony Ericsson’s head of global communications and public relations, confirmed the layoffs. Ligouri says the RTP cuts are part of company-wide changes that Sony Ericsson announced in July. At that time, the company said it would lay off 2,000 workers worldwide to adjust to tough market conditions.

“This is our map of how we see things moving forward,” Ligouri said.

The company has about 750 workers in RTP, which serves as a key Sony Ericsson R&D hub. The handset maker, a joint venture between Japan’s Sony and Sweden’s Ericsson, has struggled in recent quarters. Waning demand for its high-end phones and product delays brought down profit to 6 million euros in the second quarter, down from 220 million euros a year earlier.

Sales also slumped in that quarter, to 2.82 billion euros, from 3.11 billion euros in the second quarter of 2007.

Entire article courtesy of Triangle Business Journal.

Sony Ericsson has also issued a press release about further adjustments:

Sony Ericsson recognises that market conditions have changed very rapidly and action must be taken to ensure that it can remain competitive in the dynamic and fast-paced telecommunications industry. Today the company confirms that it is beginning to implement a plan to align its operations and resources worldwide to meet an increasingly competitive business environment and to help restore its capability for profitable growth. The measures that are being taken by Sony Ericsson are aimed at becoming a faster, more agile and more cost efficient organisation. 

At the time of its Q2 2008 financial results announcement on 18 July, Sony Ericsson committed to making cost savings of Euro 300 million over the next twelve months, which includes a total headcount reduction worldwide of around 2,000 people (including both employees and consultants).

Sony Ericsson confirms that today internal announcements were made about which sites and functions would be affected by these headcount reductions. There will now follow a period of consultation between local management, employees/consultants and employee representatives to determine which positions at each of the affected sites will be eliminated.

More information regarding Sony Ericsson’s global alignment plans will be shared at the time of its Q3 2008 financial results on 17 October.