Struggling electronics giant Sony Corp will not pay bonuses to senior executives for the third straight year, the Japanese company said yesterday, as it braces for another disastrous earnings showing.
The move means that company president Kazuo Hirai would not have received any bonuses since he became chief executive officer in 2012, a Sony spokeswoman said.
Several top execs are to follow suit, while dozens of other senior officials — including those in charge of the troubled electronics divisions — are expected to be left out of the bonuses round for the second straight year, she said.
Photo: AFP
“Our top management proposed to return their bonuses and that was accepted in the company’s compensation committee as appropriate,” she said.
Japanese reports said bonuses typically make up between 35 and 50 percent of an executive’s remuneration, with the Nikkei business daily saying the total value of the bonuses not to be paid could be as much as ￥1 billion (US$10 million)
The comments came a day before the firm is due to announce its full-year earnings report.
Sony said earlier this month it would book a ￥130 billion net loss in the fiscal year to March while slashing its operating earnings outlook, blaming costs tied to its exit from the PC business, as the once-mighty company undergoes painful reforms.
The figure is worse than a ￥110 billion net loss forecast just three months ago, when Sony said it would cut 5,000 jobs in its struggling computer and television units.
Sony’s earnings, due today, are expected to offer a depressing comparison with sector stable mates Panasonic Corp and Sharp Corp, both of which have reported profits following on from huge losses the previous year.
Analysts have long urged Sony to follow Panasonic’s lead and ditch televisions, which offer razor-thin margins and fierce competition.
However, a Kyodo news agency report yesterday that the company will suspend the development of organic LED televisions was knocked down by a Sony spokesman, who said: “We have produced business to business products and will keep development of organic LED televisions.”
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