Sony Shareholders OK New Management

Sony is expecting an even wider loss for the fiscal year through March 2010, as it gets hammered by sliding global demand, a strong yen and declining gadget prices.

At an annual shareholders meeting in Tokyo, attended by more than 8,300 investors, Stringer sought to allay investor fears about the future of the company that makes the Walkman music player and PlayStation 3 game machines.

Stringer told shareholders the company was on track to restructure its operations and cut costs by 300 billion yen ($3.1 billion) this year, as he had promised earlier.

Under the new management team, announced in February, Sony has centered power in Stringer to streamline decision-making.

Stringer, 67, is heading a team of four younger executives, three of them in their 40s -- including Kazuo Hirai, 48, head of Sony's game unit -- to spearhead efforts to bring together Sony's sprawling empire, spanning TVs, games, movies and semiconductors, to develop products and services for the digital age.

Board member Morita, who has formerly headed the music business, becomes head of the Japan units of Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, effective later this month.