Sony plans to lay off 10,000 employees around the world this year, about 6% of its total workforce, in response to its fourth straight year of losses. This includes Sony’s previously announced plans to lay off 5,000 employees in two areas.

Sony’s last mass lay off was in December 2008, when economic ripples from the Lehman Brothers failure prompted them to cut 16,000 employees loose. Now the company is dealing with its fourth straight year of losses, having predicted annual losses of $2.9 billion in February.

In light of these numbers, is it any wonder that PS4 development seems to be moving forward with low-end hardware?

Sources: The Japan Times, Forbes