Sony may announce drastic cost cuts: report

05/01/2009 - 5:30

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp is likely to announce a restructuring plan that could include closures of Japanese factories and major divisions, the Times of London said on Monday, but the company denied any such plan existed.

The maker of Bravia flat TVs and PlayStation video game consoles announced a $1.1 billion savings plan in its electronics division in December, but it needs further and bigger restructuring measures to secure growth, analysts have said.

SONY (JP6758.TK)is braced for a series of measures to abolish some of its domestic operations and transform the electronic giant's business, the Times said, citing company sources. "We do not plan to announce additional restructuring measures at this time," spokesman Atsuo Omagari said, in response to the report. "We don't have any such plan."

Sony, which has fallen behind Apple Inc's iPod in portable music and is losing money on its flat TVs, last month said it would cut 8,000 regular workers, or roughly 4 percent of its workforce of 185,800, and an equal number or more temporary and contract staff.

(Reporting by Mayumi Negishi; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)