Sony has little chance of winning back its reputation as an innovator or vaulting ahead of stronger rivals with the "ordinary" turnaround plan its new chief unveiled last week, analysts said. On Thursday, the firm's leader Kazuo Hirai said the "urgent" revamp of Sony's business would cost nearly $1.0 billion this year and mean 10,000 job cuts, as it looks to staunch multi-billion dollar losses.
Hirai outlined a blueprint to slash costs at Sony's struggling television division, while boosting the image of its Bravia TV brand.
Sony's reforms, in addition to cutting about 6.0 percent of its workforce, also include expanding its PlayStation and online games business, as well as pushing further into emerging markets and new sectors, such as medical equipment and life sciences.
"Now is the time for Sony to change," Hirai, who replaced Welsh-born US chief executive Howard Stringer earlier this year, said from the company's Tokyo headquarters. "What is urgent is that we strengthen our core businesses while rebuilding our TV business."