Sony to cut plants and 8,000 jobs

Sony has announced plans to cut 8,000 electronics jobs - 5% of its global workforce - as well as shutting 10% of its manufacturing sites.

The company said the jobs would be cut by April 2010 but did not say in which countries the staff would go.

Sony said it had been trying to reduce production because of the downturn but warned it still had to do more.

The news came as Japan drastically raised its estimate of the amount its economy shrank from July to September.

The Cabinet Office said the economy had shrunk at an annual rate of 1.8% in the quarter, down from its previous estimate of 0.4%.