Sony Pictures to lay off 350 jobs

Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc, the movie studio subsidiary of the Japanese electronics maker, is laying off nearly 250 people and eliminating nearly 100 open positions in an effort to cut costs.

Chief Executive Michael Lynton and studio co-chair Amy Pascal announced job cuts of 3.5 per cent of the studio's staff worldwide in a staff memo sent out last afternoon.

"Our studio remains profitable, but over the past five months, the deepening global financial crisis has begun to impact some of our lines of business, such as television syndication, DVDs and advertising sales," they said in the memo.

"These economic effects have, regretfully, made it necessary to take the step we had hoped to avoid, and worked hard to minimise: reducing our headcount."

Less than 150 people will be laid off in the United States, most in Los Angeles, along with less than 100 people overseas. Nearly 100 open positions will not be filled.

The announcement follows other cost cutting moves made in October by the Culver City-based studio, which distributed "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" in January and the James Bond flick "Quantum of Solace" in November.

In October, the studio moved to reduce overtime, travel and executive benefits to cope with an economic downturn. But conditions have worsened since then, Lynton and Pascal said.