Sony Group Corp’s SONY co-founder Akio Morita as soon as in an interview delivered a scathing critique of company leaders who prioritize quarterly income over the long-term well being of their firms.
What Occurred: He spoke concerning the widespread follow of treating companies as commodities reasonably than communities of individuals.
“An organization is rather like a household, like a house. We’re working collectively, and this group of individuals working in the identical route shouldn’t be handled similar to a commodity,” he said.
The legendary co-founder expressed concern over how executives usually make drastic cuts throughout financial downturns, equivalent to mass layoffs, to guard income.
“Recession was not attributable to these staff,” he mentioned, including, “But, these staff are fired, shedding enterprise, nonetheless administration stays to maintain its revenue. I’m questioning, the place are the human rights of those staff?”
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Morita additionally criticized the follow of latest administration writing off earlier losses to make themselves look good whereas avoiding investments within the firm’s long-term future.
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Why It Issues: Morita’s passing in 1999 marked the top of an period for Sony Corp. and the Japanese enterprise group.
A Harris ballot performed a yr earlier than his passing, revealed that Sony ranked as the highest model amongst American shoppers, surpassing iconic U.S. firms equivalent to Basic Electrical and Coca-Cola.
Beneath Morita’s management, Sony made historical past as the primary Japanese firm to record its inventory within the U.S. in 1961 and have become a trailblazer once more in 1972 by establishing one of many first Japanese-owned factories on American soil.
Sony at present has a market cap of $126.28 billion, making it the world’s 127th most beneficial firm. The corporate’s inventory skilled a 13.1% enhance in 2024, in accordance with knowledge from Benzinga Professional.
Japanese company tradition values lifetime employment. Corporations prioritize job safety and worker loyalty to make sure stability. This contrasts with the U.S., the place flexibility and frequent job adjustments are widespread.
Japanese corporations additionally keep away from mergers and acquisitions. As an alternative, they give attention to natural development and long-term relationships over fast income.
Here’s a desk summarizing a number of the largest tech layoffs over the previous 5 years, together with notable firms and the variety of staff affected:
| Firm | Yr | Variety of Layoffs | Notes |
| Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN | 2022 | 10,000 | A number of rounds of layoffs in late 2022. |
| Meta Platforms, Inc. META | 2022 | 11,000 | First main spherical introduced in November 2022. |
| Twitter (now known as X) | 2022 | 6,000+ | Roughly 80% discount underneath Elon Musk’s possession. |
| Intel Company INTC | 2024 | 15,000 | Deliberate discount of 15% of workforce. |
| Microsoft Company MSFT | 2024 | 1,900 | Cuts primarily within the gaming division. |
| Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL | 2023 | 12,000 | Introduced important layoffs in January. |
Final yr, Sony Interactive Leisure additionally introduced plans to scale back its PlayStation workforce by roughly 900 staff, representing 8% of its world workers.
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