Sony Ericsson cuts 2,000 jobs as revenues plummet

Sony Ericsson is to cut another 2,000 jobs from its global workforce, after posting first-quarter financial results for 2009 that show a steep loss in revenue and further market share decline.

The telecoms firm reported a year-over-year first-quarter loss of €428m (£378m) after tax. Profits slumped by 82 per cent over the period to €145m (£128m), while unit shipments fell by 35 per cent to 14.5 million.

Sony Ericsson cited weak consumer confidence and retail de-stocking for the sales drop, and admitted that its market share had fallen to six per cent.

"As expected, the first quarter of this year has been extremely challenging for Sony Ericsson due to continued weak global demand," said Sony Ericsson president Dick Komiyama.

"We are aligning our business to the new market reality with the aim of bringing the company back to profitability as quickly as possible."

The company axed hundreds of jobs at the end of last year, and announced plans to pursue an additional cost saving programme to reduce its annual operating expenses by €400m (£354m) by 2010. The headcount reduction will form a large part of the strategy.