Sony lost chairman of the board and decided to close the factory for the production of smartphones

In just one day, Sony received several sad news at once: firstly, it is leaving

Chairman of the Board of Directors Kazuo Hirai; secondly, the smartphone production plant in China will have to be closed. But first things first.

Goodbye Kazuo!

Kazuo Hirai, who gave Sony 35 yearsof his life, completes his work for several months and retires. The 58-year-old executive has been thinking about retirement for a long time: having overcome the crisis and having earned more than one billion dollars for the company, a year ago he resigned from the post of chief executive officer and president and handed over the board to CFO Kenichiro Yoshida.

He is now the chairman of the board of directors, but June 18 is his last day at Sony. Despite his retirement, he will continue to share his experience with colleagues as a senior advisor.

“After Yoshida-san passed the baton of the generalDirector last April, I had the opportunity in my capacity as Chairman of the Board of Sony to ensure a smooth transition and provide support to Sony management. I am confident that everyone at Sony fully agrees with Yoshida-san's strong leadership and is committed to building an even brighter future for Sony. Therefore, I decided to leave the company, which has been a part of my life for the past 35 years,” emphasized Kazuo Hirai.

What's wrong with the plant?

At the same time, Sony decided to close the plantfor the production of smartphones in Beijing, the capital of China. Production will be transferred to our own plant in Thailand. It's all about the losses that the division is suffering: now the company occupies less than 1% of the smartphone market, significantly inferior to its Chinese competitors. If you close your eyes to the design, which has long been promised to change, Sony smartphones cannot boast of such a set of advanced technologies as other devices. But the price tag is at the same level.

After closing the plant, the company hopes to cut costs and return to profit next year. In the meantime, they are preparing for losses of $863 million in the 2018–19 financial year.

Despite the setbacks, the company does not intend to close or sell its smartphone division.