When Kaz Hirai announced his "One Sony" strategy to get the company back on its feet, the new CEO explained that the initiative would include a workforce reduction of up to 10,000 employees by the end of its 2012 fiscal year. Since that announcement, Sony has slowly released details on exactly where those cuts will be made — roughly 1,000 jobs were cut as Sony Mobile moves its headquarters back from Sweden to Tokyo, and now the company has just announced information on a further 2,840 layoffs.

As part of the latest round of restructuring, production of interchangeable lenses for DSLRs, lens blocks, and mobile phones at Sony's Minokamo Site will be absorbed by the company's Kohda Site. As a result, the Minokamo Site, which accounts for around 840 direct employees, will close at the end of March 2013. Considering Sony's camera group is one of the strongest parts of the company, with the company making sensors for a wide range of customers and offering its own compelling lineup, the closure of this factory feels like a surprising place to cut back on.

Additionally, the company is implementing an "early retirement program" that will affect approximately 2,000 employees by the end of its fiscal year in March. The program is expected to reduce the workforce headcount by 20 percent at Sony headquarters alone. Unfortunately, we're likely to hear more announcements like this as we approach the end of Sony's 2012 fiscal year.