Sony jobs cull hit Sweden R&D centre in March

STOCKHOLM, April 10 (Reuters) - Workers at Sony Corp's mobile phone research facilities in Sweden learned in late March that 6 percent of them were to lose their jobs, a ratio that is in line with media reports of a worldwide job cuts plan by the Japanese electronics group.

"We got given notice at the end of March that 149 jobs would be cut, and we are negotiating with the company now about those," said Lene Eriksson, representative of the Unionen umbrella union group at Sony Mobile. A Sony Mobile spokesman confirmed that 149 jobs were to go, but would not comment further.

The company employs around 2,500 people in Lund, in southern Sweden, one of its key research and development centres.

Japan's Sony Corp flagged a record $6.4 billion annual net loss on Tuesday, double an earlier forecast and a fourth straight year of red ink, as it writes off deferred tax credits, heaping more pressure on its new CEO to turn around the electronics giant.

But as the result was delivered, Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato declined to comment on reports it is to cut 10,000 jobs - 6 percent of the workforce - worldwide.

Some at the Lund plant had feared the cuts could be even more extensive there.

Its future has been in question since Sony's purchase of Ericsson's stake in the joint-venture last year.

Sony Ericsson had been losing market share and the company has been trying to cut costs. With other R&D centres around the globe, activities in Lund were widely expected to be slimmed down or ended altogether.

But union officials were confident on Tuesday that the plant had a future.

"It doesn't seem as if the company is going to give notice to further employees," said Eriksson. A second union representative also said that he did not expect further cuts.