Sony Ericsson and Toshiba face harsh times as the credit crunch takes hold.

Mobile phone giant Sony Ericsson and major electronics manufacturer Toshiba have announced job losses totalling almost 6,000 by the end of this year.

Sony Ericsson announced it is cutting a further 2,000 jobs this year after the company reported a first-quarter pre-tax loss of €358 million (£315m). The firm has already slashed 2,000 positions. The results are the company’s third consecutive quarterly loss.

Mobile phone manufacturers have suffered during the economic downturn with demand for mobile phone units falling. Sales at Sony Ericsson fell to €1.7 billion, almost one billion Euros less than last year, which the company has blamed on “continued weak consumer confidence and de-stocking in the retail and distribution channels”.

Sony Ericsson is poised to adopt further cost-cutting measures by mid-2010 in a bid to save €400m.

Dick Komiyama, President of Sony Ericsson, said: “As expected, the first quarter of this year has been extremely challenging for Sony Ericsson due to continued weak global demand.

“We are aligning our business to the new market reality with the aim of bringing back to profitability as quickly as possible.”

Japanese electronics giant Toshiba has also suffered from weakened consumer confidence and has experienced a huge drop in demand. The electronics manufacturer announced the culling of 3,900 contract workers in Japan by March 2010. Toshiba has already cut 4,500 workers in January 2009.

Toshiba is set to experience its first annual net loss in seven years, which is forecast to be in the region of ¥350bn (£2.36bn) in the year ended March 2009. This figure is higher than the earlier prediction of a ¥280bn loss.