Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson is to cut 2,000 more jobs after it swung to a loss of €293m in the first quarter of the year.
The group, which reported losses in the third and fourth quarters of last year, had warned in March that its first-quarter figures would be weak because of recessions in major economies which have hit demand for its handsets.
With sales in the fourth quarter down by a third, it vowed to deepen job cuts announced last year in a bid to reduce costs and return to profitability.
Sony Ericsson had announced a cost-cutting programme in July 2008 that included 2,000 job cuts by the end of the first half of 2009 which was expected to bring its work force to around 10,000.
Sony Ericsson, created in 2001 in a merger between Ericsson of Sweden and Sony of Japan, has been trying to focus its business on fast-growing emerging markets in order to reduce dependence on the nearly saturated European zone.
As a result it has entered the low-end market where prices are lower and the competition is tougher, analysts say, but it has lacked the products to make a splash in emerging markets such as China and India.
In the first quarter, Sony Ericsson's sales plunged by 35.7% from a year earlier to €1.73 billion. It sold 14.5 million mobile phones during the period, at an average price of €120, compared with 22.3 million for an average €121 a year ago.
By comparison, Nokia, which dominates the low-end sector, said its average selling price was €65 n the first quarter. The weak results were expected, as Sony Ericsson had issued a profit warning on March 20.
