Sony sees huge loss coming, freezes wages for all workers for one year

Japanese media today are reporting that Sony plans to freeze the monthly wages of all regular workers for one year starting as soon as this April. The company also announced a number of pay cuts that include top management positions.

From fiscal 2009 (which begins April 1 for Sony Japan), managers with non-board posts have to live with 35 to 40% annual bonus cuts. Sony cuts annual income for board members, including chairman Howard Stringer (pictured) who moved up the Sony food chain last month, by 30 to 50%. In Japan, Panasonic and Sharp were in the news yesterday with similar moves.

Stringer announced in January that he wants to trim 16,000 Sony jobs worldwide and completely restructure the company. The company is expected to incur a record loss of $2.7 billion for the current fiscal year. Sony shares today fell 1.5% at the Tokyo Stock Exchange.