The Japanese electronics behemoth Sony has cut around 120 jobs across verticals in India as cheaper Chinese Televisions taking over the local markets amid a slowdown in electronic sales. The company which primarily operates in the market's upper and upper-mid segments has confirmed a report in the Economic Times.
Industry experts estimated that around 200 people may have lost the jobs but Sony has rejected such claims. The website of the company shows a workforce of over 900 employees in India. Notably, the tepid sales in India have forced the company to merge smaller branch offices and roles which seems redundant. Sony merged multiple offices in Surat with Ahmedabad and Gurgaon with Delhi.
Challenging times for Sony in India
Sony is facing a tough time in India with the markets flooded with cheaper Chinese alternatives. Companies like Xiaomi and One Plus have become an instant hit among the Indian consumers, Sony's woes are far from over.
A comparative analysis of the prices of these TVs in comparison to Sony showed that these brands are 30-40% cheaper than Sony, Samsung, and LG. Such high prices against its peers have directly impacted the company's revenue in recent years.
The company's revenue tanked for the fourth consecutive years in FY19 as revenue from operations in 2018-19 fell by 8.3% from a year ago to 6,417.52 crores.
Sony's sales peaked to 11,010 crores in 2014-15 but revenues started falling since FY16. Net profit from Indian markets dipped 5.9% last fiscal to 101.15 crores.
The company spokesperson said, "This requires us to relook at our business strategy, including human resources, and we are taking corrective measures to make ourselves more agile, efficient and robust in the long term. We are undergoing dialogue with our personnel and expect a fair and reasonable outcome consistent with Sony's culture of proactive engagement with our internal stakeholders. Since this is our internal matter, we expect to deal with utmost dignity, sensitivity, and responsibility." The total sales of televisions in 2018 and 2019 have also sunk 2 % in each year.
