Sony Ericsson slashes R&D staff

450 out of 750 employees going in North Carolina

6 October 2008 15:35 GMT / By Katie Scott

Sony Ericsson warned it may have to slash some jobs, but now the axe has fallen at the company's North American headquarters.

The phone manufacturer has admitted that it is going to slash 450 jobs at its R&D facility in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.

There are currently around 750 Sony Ericsson employees at the facility, but, according to Engadget, staff will be told if they are staying or going by the end of the week.

Aldo Ligouri, Sony Ericsson's head of global communications and public relations, said that the cuts are "part of company-wide changes that Sony Ericsson announced in July".

He added: "Rhis is our map of how we see things moving forward".

Sony Ericsson admitted in the summer that it may have to make as many as 2000 job cuts.

This latest news comes just days after the company announced that it is going to shut its flagship store in High Street Kensington, London.