Hot Topics:

Sony to cut $1.1 billion from costs

Thousands of workers to be pinkslipped

EFP lines up young stars for Berlin

Keanu Reeves to lead '47 Ronin'

Aniston, Butler find laffs at Columbia

U.S. firm backs China's Apex loop

Kathy Connell back for SAG kudos

'Burn Notice' gets renewal(1325 views)

Swiss OK Polanski move to chalet(889 views)

Pearce hops on to 'Hungry Rabbit Jumps'(731 views)

'It' is 3D's lost opportunity(690 views)

Ninja Assassin(643 views)

Sony has announced cost cuts amounting to $1.1 billion, with a total of 16,000 workers slated to get the ax, but the layoffs will not affect Sony's movie, game, music or financial businesses.

The announcement, made Tuesday in Tokyo, is Sony's attempt to slow sharp profit drops as the worldwide recession bites into sales of key Sony products and the strengthening yen shrinks overseas earnings.

The job cuts center on the electronics division. They're skedded to continue through March 2010 and include 8,000 full-time and 8,000 temporary workers, with only the former considered part of Sony's 185,000 global workforce.

The company will also close 10% of its 57 manufacturing sites while slashing investment in its electronics business 30% by March 2010.

Sony said in a statement that the cuts come "in response to the sudden and rapid changes in the global economic environment."

Conglom has also lowered its profit projection for the current fiscal year, ending in March, by 59% to $1.5 billion.