Atlanta –
will open its new North and Central America headquarters in Atlanta on July 12,
when half the office space it has leased will begin operations, a spokesperson
told TWICE.
The company hasn’t announced a timetable for moving the remainder
of its North American operations from Research Triangle Park, N.C., and its
Latin American operations from Miami.
The North Carolina and Miami offices were among several sites
that the handset maker announced late last year that it would close as part of
a previously announced plan to cut costs.
The new facility in Atlanta’s Buckhead section will employ about
180 people, including executive teams, sales and marketing staff, and
operations, SonyEricsson said. The company declined to confirm press reports
that 425 people had been working out of the North Carolina late last year.
Worldwide cutbacks started in mid-2008, yielding a workforce
reduction of about 3,150 people, with company-wide employment falling to 8,450
by March 31.
During its latest full fiscal year ending last December, the
company’s worldwide unit shipments fell 41 percent to 57.1 million, sales were
off 40 percent to $9.6 billion, operating losses surged to $1.43 billion from
$159.1 million, and net losses surged to $1.18 billion from $102.8 million.
For the first quarter of
2010, however, the company returned to profitability despite sales that
continued to decline year-over-year. Unit sales fell to 10.5 million from the
year-ago 14.5 million, and dollar sales fell 23 percent, but the company posted
a net income of 21 million Euros compared to the year-ago net loss of 293
million Euros.
