Sony Corp is slashing 8,000 jobs, or four per cent of its global work force, aiming to cut costs by US$1.1 billion a year as an economic downturn and a stronger yen batter profits at the Japanese electronics maker.

Japan, meantime, has announced that it fell into a deeper recession in the third quarter than first thought, as exports weakened, domestic demand fell and companies bracing for a prolonged downturn pared inventories.

The Cabinet office said that Japan's economy shrank at an annual pace of 1.8 per cent in the July-September period, compared with its original estimate of a 0.4 per cent contraction.

Temporary jobs

Sony Corp, which has 185,000 employees worldwide, said Tuesday it would complete the job cuts - all in the electronics sector - by the end of March 2010.

Senior Vice-President Naofumi Hara said Sony would also cut at least 8,000 temporary jobs in the same sector in the same period.

He said temporary workers are not counted in the tally of Sony's global workforce.

The company will close several plants, including one in Dax, France, cut investment in electronics and outsource some work. The moves will deliver more than 100 billion yen (US$1.1 billion) in savings per year by March 2010, the company said.

"Now we are all facing a recession together," said Hara. "It is impossible to predict how much longer the situation will last."

Currency fluctuations

Sony's announcement comes amid similar news from other Japanese manufacturers, which face plunging demand at home and abroad, as well as falling gadget prices and currency fluctuations. But Sony's job cuts are Japan's biggest since the US credit crunch hit over the summer.

Sony - maker of the Walkman portable player and PlayStation 3 game console - is particularly vulnerable to the strong yen since about 80 per cent of its sales come from overseas.

The dollar has dropped to about 93 yen from 117 yen last year, eroding with it Sony's foreign income.

Financial businesses

Hara said the ways the job cuts will be carried out will vary by country, but he did not provide a breakdown.

Sony's electronics business employs about 160,000 workers. The company also has movie, video game and financial businesses.

Sony's July-September profit plunged 72 per cent from a year earlier to 20.8 billion yen (US$224 million).