Sony Forecasts Record £4 Billion Loss

Fourth straight year of losses may result in 10,000 jobs being cut

Sony expects to report a record $6.4 billion (£4.02b) net loss for the business year just ended on March 31.

The firm's annual results are due on May 21, and reports earlier this week suggested Sony intends to cut 10,000 jobs, or around six percent of its global workforce, as it looks to turn its fortunes around.

Weak demand for its televisions - the business has lost $10 billion (£6.3b) in ten years - and falling behind Apple and Samsung in the gadgets market are largely responsible for what will be a fourth straight year of losses, according to Reuters.

Newly appointed CEO and former PlayStation boss Kaz Hirai has said he's willing to take "painful steps" to stop the rot, and that he expects the firm to bounce back this year with an operating profit of 180 billion yen (£1.39b).

Key to this will be a new "convergence" strategy centred on bringing together Sony's entertainment properties, including singers Kelly Clarkson and Michael Jackson, and the Spider-Man and Men in Black film franchises, with its Vaio computers, Bravia TVs and other electronics products.