Kaz Hirai states Sony is in "serious trouble"

Newly appointed CEO Kaz Hirai did not pull any punches about the state of Sony in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He stated that the company was in ”serious trouble” and that turning it around would be the biggest challenge of his career.

The company saw a £1.3bn loss in the fiscal quarter of Q3 2011, down 17.3% from the previous quarter, with an expected loss of $2.9 billion for the full year. It would the fourth yearly loss in a row.

Sony blamed this year’s losses on a weak global economy, citing ”deterioration in market conditions in developed countries” and ”unfavourable foreign exchange”. The company also cited floods in Thailand disrupting the supply chain.

Hirai stated in the interview, ”I thought turning around the PlayStation business was going to be the toughest challenge of my career, but I guess not,” and added, ”It’s one issue after another. I feel like ‘Holy s—, now what?’”

”We really need to buckle down and be realistic. I don’t think everybody is on board, but I think people are coming around to the idea that if we don’t turn this around, we could be sitting in some serious trouble,” Hirai added, stating that the company was relying too much on past glory and not enough on the current state of affairs.

Hirai will be officially replacing Howard Stringer as CEO on the 1st April.