Tokyo - Sony Corp on Thursday said it plans to halve the number of its suppliers by the end of 2010 to reduce costs by more than 500 billion yen (5.23 billion dollars).

Sony plans to cut the suppliers to 1,200 firms from about 2,500 and to reduce costs by increasing the volume of procurement from each firm, a company spokesman said.

In doing so, the Japanese electronics giant aims to save 500 billion yen in procurement costs by March next year.

Sony also plans to cut 300 billion yen in fixed costs by implementing other restructuring measures, including dismissing 16,000 workers in Japan and abroad and reducing manufacturing plants by 10 per cent.

The company suffered an operating loss of 227.8 billion yen for the business year that ended in March, which was a turnaround from an operating profit of 475.3 billion yen the year before.

Sony also said it expected losses in the current fiscal year as the global economic downturn has slashed demand for consumer electronics, such as televisions and mobile phones, and the yen has risen, making Sony's products more expensive abroad and cutting into its overseas earnings.(dpa)