More bad news to struck the technology world, as Sony has announced that it would be laying off 8,000 staffs from its global workforce in addition to 8,000 contract workers from its electronics division – which takes the total layoffs figure to 16,000. According to Bloomberg:

Sony will curb investments, outsource production and move away from unprofitable businesses by March 2010 to save more than 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion) a year, the company said today. The cuts include 8,000 full-time employees, or 5 percent of the company’s electronics workforce, and another 8,000 part-time and seasonal workers, Sony said.

The reductions highlight the severity of the slump in consumer spending at a time when companies typically focus on the peak Christmas shopping season. Tokyo-based Sony, led by Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer, said a “much” larger-than- anticipated deterioration in the economy spurred the measures and the company may revise its profit targets.

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