Sony Corp. will cut $250 million in costs at its entertainment units over two years, part of Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai's plan to boost profit and keep full ownership of the movie, TV and music businesses.
The company is reducing the number of films from Columbia Pictures, shifting investment to TV production and media networks, and identifying more savings, Sony told investors and analysts Thursday at its Culver City, California, film studio.
Hirai is under pressure to prove his One Sony plan tying entertainment to electronics can work, following a disastrous second quarter that included a $181 million operating loss at Sony Pictures Entertainment. Six months after billionaire Daniel Loeb called for a partial sale of the entertainment assets, Hirai outlined priorities for cutting costs while investing in higher-growth areas, stressing ways entertainment can dovetail with electronics from the Tokyo-based company.