Sony CFO to be Replaced April 1 After $1.1 Annual Billion Loss Estimated
posted Sunday Mar 30, 2014 by Nicholas DiMeo
If you've been keeping up with Sony news, you'd know the company has been in trouble for a while. With key exec layoffs in the media division that led to a quarter-million dollar budget cut and a layoff of over 200 employees shortly after, more bad news continues to plague the tech giant. Following a prediction of a $1.1 billion loss for Sony, CFO Masaru Kato will be leaving the company effective April 1.
Announced by CEO Kaz Hirai as a planned transition, Kenichiro Yoshida will be taking over the position on that date. Yoshida has had plenty of experience working in different positions with Sony since starting with the company back in 1983, and he's also been the deputy CFO since early December, so the transition should be a natural one for him.
On the news, Sony spokeswoman Yo Kikuchi said, "After discussing the matter over the last four months, we decided it would be appropriate to appoint Yoshida at the beginning of the new financial year."
For Kato, while he will be leaving the CFO role, he will also drop his executive VP title as well. However, he will stay on with Sony as a director and will become a vice chairman on the board.
Cost-cutting measures will continue for Sony, with the company also selling a large property next to its HQ to a real estate company for just over $68 million. Hirai also mentioned other cuts that will be happening in the next quarter but did not disclose what they were. There's not much meat left on the Sony steak, though, so it will be an interesting ride over the next year to see where Sony cuts next.
