By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP

Sony Corp.`s new leader, Howard Stringer, is a dual American and British citizen who took over as chief executive earlier this year.

TOKYO (Sept. 22) - Sony Corp. said Thursday it will cut about 10,000 jobs, close 11 plants and shrink or terminate 15 unprofitable operations in an ambitious restructuring bid to revive its stumbling electronics business.

The turnaround plan, which will reduce Sony`s global work force by 6 percent, comes under the fresh leadership of Chief Executive Howard Stringer, a British-American dual citizen who was named in March as the first foreign head of the Japanese electronics and entertainment company.

But prospects remain uncertain for Sony, which has lost money in its electronics sector for two straight fiscal years. On Thursday, it revised its forecast downward for the fiscal year through March 2006 to a net loss of 10 billion yen ($90 million), far worse than its initial forecast for a 10 billion yen profit, citing restructuring costs for the latest plan.

To cut costs and streamline its sprawling empire, Sony said it would downsize or quit 15 business categories and reduce the number of models by 20 percent. Sony refused to specify which businesses would be trimmed, but the company`s president, Ryoji Chubachi, said research costs for its Aibo robot division will be reduced, and no new product development will be carried out in its high-end Qualia brand line

Under the plan that Stringer said will cut costs by 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) by the end of March 2008, Sony will reduce 4,000 workers in Japan and 6,000 outside the nation, while factories would be cut from the present 65 to 54.

Tokyo-based Sony, which did not give a nation-by-nation breakdown for overseas job cuts, employs more than 151,000 workers worldwide.

Sony denied Japanese media speculation that it was selling off its financial businesses, which include banking and insurance, and did not announce any major spin-offs or sales. The company said it would review real estate, stock holdings and other assets to dispose of some 120 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in assets by March 2008.

John Yang, analyst with Standard & Poor`s in Tokyo, wasn`t impressed, describing Sony`s cost cuts as only a continuation of a plan laid out by Stringer`s predecessor, Nobuyuki Idei. Also disturbing was Sony`s unchanged mentality of wanting to be an all-around king, instead of focusing on key areas, Yang said.

``If I had to give a grade to Howard Stringer, I`d give him a C-plus,`` Yang said. ``He talks a lot about restructuring in cost reduction. He doesn`t really talk about stirring growth.``

Stringer acknowledged the ``basic strategy`` had not changed, but that the difference this time will come with faster decision-making and a more definite commitment to getting things done.

``We have made promises before but we failed to execute them,`` Stringer said at an afternoon news conference in Tokyo. ``We must fight like the Sony warriors that we are.``

Sony, known as a pioneer in electronics first with the transistor radio and later the Walkman, has seen some of its glory dimmed by Asian rivals like Samsung Electronics Co. and other lesser known companies that are offering cheaper prices.

It has had to rely on its movie division such as the popular ``Spider-Man`` series and its successful PlayStation video-game consoles to maintain profits in recent years.

Sony has also been criticized as falling behind in slimmer TV models, such as liquid-crystal and plasma display sets, that are increasing popular around the world, losing market share to relative Japanese newcomer Sharp Corp. as well as old-time rival Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand goods.

Sony also fell behind Apple Computer Inc.`s iPod in what should have been its forte - portable music players - clinging to CD and minidisc formats and its own proprietary but unpopular format for digital music files. The iPod models are proving a big hit in Japan, where Apple began its iTunes store in August to rave reviews.

Over the last five years, Sony shares have lost two-thirds of their value, and are trading at about 4,000 yen ($36).

Chubachi, also head of the electronics division, conceded that his company wasn`t making products that people wanted to buy and that Sony`s technological prowess had declined.

Sony said it would focus now on so-called ``champion products`` including the PlayStation 3 next-generation game console, Bravia liquid crystal display televisions and the Walkmans.

Chubachi tried to reassure the crowd that Sony was making headway in winning consumers with new products such as the newly available Bravia flat-panel TVs codeveloped with Samsung.

``We are definitely feeling that the recovery is under way,`` he said.

09/22/05 06:37 EDT