Sony Pictures to lay off 450 employees: WSJ

Sony Pictures Entertainment, a division of Sony Corp, is planning to lay off about 450 employees, or about 6.5 per cent of its current work force, in the next few weeks, says a media report.

Attributing to a memo by Sony Pictures co-chairmen Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal, The Wall Street Journal said, the company is planning to lay off about 450 employees in the next few weeks.

The report said that the majority of the layoffs are expected to hit the studio's home-entertainment and formation-technology departments, but nearly all divisions are expected to feel an impact to some extent, which includes motion pictures, television production and corporate.

"Most of the layoffs are expected to fall in the US and take place by the first week in March," it added.

After the current round of job cut, studio's head count would stand at about 6,300. In addition, the studio would not fill about 100 jobs that are currently open.

The company's business has been hit by digital piracy and the impact of social-media services that have sometimes undermined studios' marketing efforts.

DVD sales in the US has seen declined 13 per cent to $8.73 billion against last year, putting a major dent in the studios' bottom-line, the report said attributing to Adams Media Research.