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Sony Mobile to move HQ to Tokyo, cut 1,000 workers
The company says that the reduction amounts to about 15 percent of its global workforce, and should be completed by the end of March 2014.
Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai holding a Sony phone.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)Sony Mobile is moving closer to its parent company.
The mobile phone maker announced today that in October, it'll move its headquarters from Lund, Sweden to Tokyo, Japan. And in so doing, it will reduce its global workforce by 1,000 employees, or 15 percent of its staff. Those cuts, which include consultants, should be completed by the end of March 2014.
Sony Mobile's headquarters are in Sweden because the company's former 50 percent owner, Ericsson, is based there. Earlier this year, Sony completed the acquisition of Ericsson's stake in the mobile firm, giving it total control over the company.
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The layoffs at Sony Mobile will be just the latest cuts affecting Sony employees this year. Back in April, as part of its new "One Sony" initiative, Sony announced that it would lay off 10,000 employees, or about 6 percent of its global workforce.
The cuts at Sony Mobile are designed to "increase operational efficiency," the company said today in a statement. In addition, they will reduce costs and Sony hopes, "drive profitable growth."
