53.7 F
San Diego
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
-Advertisement-

Technology—Sony announces layoff of 500 workers locally

Sony Electronics Inc. said last week it will cut 500 employees , nearly 14 percent of the existing 3,600-person staff , at its technology center in Rancho Bernardo within the next 60 days.

Sony said it was forced to make the cuts as a result of a decision to stop manufacturing cathode ray picture tubes, or CRTs, used in computer monitors at the facility effective in April.

The decision to move the manufacturing to some other global facility “was necessary in order to enhance competitiveness within a market where price competition is rapidly intensifying,” according to a Sony statement.

Sony will eliminate two production lines that were making the computer CRTs, but will retain four other lines involved in the manufacture of CRTs used in color televisions, said spokesman John Dolak.

In 1994, Sony said it produced about 875,000 computer display systems and 2.8 million CRTs used in color televisions.

The staff restructuring has been in the works since last month when the company decided to eliminate the computer CRT production lines. Sony makes the CRTs for its own computers and those sold by other original equipment manufacturers. Dolak said there were several OEMs, but declined to reveal any names.

The Sony announcement follows a move earlier this month by San Diego-based Gateway Inc. to cut 3,000 employees from its worldwide payroll of 24,000. The computer maker has about 400 employees at its local headquarters office.

Affected Sony employees will be afforded the chance to apply for other jobs at the local facility, but if they cannot find alternate employment in 60 days they will be given an undisclosed severance package, Dolak said.

An undisclosed number of employees who worked for the company at least 10 years elected to take an early retirement package, Dolak said.

After the layoffs are completed in April, the Sony Technology Center will have more than 3,000 employees in 20 different business units, Sony said. Sony opened its Rancho Bernardo plant in 1972, becoming the first Japanese electronics company to establish television production in this country.

It has averaged about 3,600 employees for the last three years.

Last year the plant was expanded to accommodate a new division that makes desktop and notebook computers, digital cameras and camcorders. The expansion added some 300 jobs, Dolak said.

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-