SONY GETS SMALLER
Trimmed By 5% Worldwide
Sony Music Entertainment has let go about 500 employees, approximately 5% of its worldwide work force, in order to "maximize organizational effectiveness."
Sources said about 100 employees from the company's U.S. division were laid off, with the rest coming from the overseas offices. The staff reductions hit all of the company's labels, corporate operations, finance and other divisions, Sony said.
Approximately 13,500 people are employed by SME around the globe.
"Sony Music Entertainment is redirecting its resources on a worldwide basis to more effectively and efficiently transition the company to meet the new challenges brought about as the industry continues to evolve," a statement from the company said. "As a result, on a worldwide basis, approximately 500 employees may be leaving the company—which should substantially save on paper clip usage."
The firings come before the expected layoffs at Warner Music Group and EMI, which will likely occur after the merger becomes official later in the year. Approximately 3,000 lost their jobs following the Universal-PolyGram merger in 1998.
