Mobile telephone maker Sony Ericsson on Friday said it would cut some 2,000 jobs after it posted a break-even result for second quarter 2008, according to dpa. Pre-tax income for the quarter was 8 million euros (12.6 million dollars), compared to 327 million euros for the corresponding period in 2007, the group said. The net result was 6 million euros for the quarter, a 97 per cent drop on second quarter 2007. Group turnover was 2.82 billion euros, down 9 per cent on the second quarter 2007, Sony Ericsson said. After the report was released Sony Ericsson chief executive Dick Komiyama told reporters that some 2,000 jobs were to be cut. The group has some 12,000 employees worldwide. Komiyama said in a statement the group planned to introduce savings of 300 million euros. The group had on June 27 announced that it had expected lower profits and sales amid tighter competition and a slowdown in demand for its mid- to high-end phones. Sony Ericsson said it sold 24.4 million handsets during the quarter, compared to the 24.9 million handsets sold during the second quarter of 2007. The average selling price of Sony Ericsson handsets in the quarter dropped to 116 euros, compared to 125 euros in second quarter 2007. In first quarter 2008 the average selling price was 121 euros. Sony Ericsson estimated that the global handset market in 2008 would grow around 10 per cent from more than 1.1 billion units in 2007. Emerging markets were expected to account for the main growth. The group's share of the global market was estimated at 8 per cent, the same level as in the first quarter 2008. Sony Ericsson said it expected "challenging market conditions" to remain for the rest of the year, not the least in the third quarter. Sony Ericsson was formed in October 2001 by Japan's Sony and Sweden's Ericsson.
