Sony and Nintendo Staff Hit by Pay Cuts
Serious business or merely pleasing for stock-holders to see.
It's serious business time in Japan as both Sony and Nintendo have announced pay changes for their staff. While many will blame the mediocre showings from both companies at E3, the chances are that the moves to cut compensation have been in process for sometime longer.
On the Nintendo front, Marketwatch reports that Nintendo:
"...has told its staff it will cut their traditional summer bonus payments by an average 20% due to flagging business, the Nikkei business daily reported Tuesday. After posting its first annual loss as a listed company last fiscal year, Nintendo is reducing the bonus to below an average 4 times monthly pay for the first time since the 1980s. The average bonus pay-out will fall to about 3.4 times monthly pay. Many companies in Asia pay regular bonuses as part of their compensation packages."
It's slightly more honourable for Sony, as Bloomberg reports, as Sony "will cut the salaries of Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai and directors after Japan’s biggest exporter of consumer electronics lost 856 billion yen during the past four years."
It goes on, "Seven corporate executive officers returned their bonuses for the year ended March 31, Sony said in a statement to shareholders today. Once a trendsetter with products such as the Walkman, Sony’s losses have mounted after customers switched to Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) TVs and Apple Inc. iPhones, pushing the shares below 1,000 yen yesterday for the first time since 1980.
"The Tokyo-based company, cutting 10,000 jobs as part of a turnaround plan, has forecast making a profit of 30 billion yen in the year ending March 31. Last year, the company had a record 457 billion-yen loss."
On the Nintendo front, Marketwatch reports that Nintendo:
"...has told its staff it will cut their traditional summer bonus payments by an average 20% due to flagging business, the Nikkei business daily reported Tuesday. After posting its first annual loss as a listed company last fiscal year, Nintendo is reducing the bonus to below an average 4 times monthly pay for the first time since the 1980s. The average bonus pay-out will fall to about 3.4 times monthly pay. Many companies in Asia pay regular bonuses as part of their compensation packages."
It's slightly more honourable for Sony, as Bloomberg reports, as Sony "will cut the salaries of Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai and directors after Japan’s biggest exporter of consumer electronics lost 856 billion yen during the past four years."
It goes on, "Seven corporate executive officers returned their bonuses for the year ended March 31, Sony said in a statement to shareholders today. Once a trendsetter with products such as the Walkman, Sony’s losses have mounted after customers switched to Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) TVs and Apple Inc. iPhones, pushing the shares below 1,000 yen yesterday for the first time since 1980.
"The Tokyo-based company, cutting 10,000 jobs as part of a turnaround plan, has forecast making a profit of 30 billion yen in the year ending March 31. Last year, the company had a record 457 billion-yen loss."
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