ARLA/CLUSTER: Sony suspende produção em 5 fabricas no Japão

[João Gonçalves Costa]

Sony to suspend operations at 5 plants due to parts shortage

Sony Corp said today it will temporarily suspend output of products at five of its factories in Japan through 31 March due to a shortage of materials and parts in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that hit the northeastern and eastern regions of the country.

The electronics giant said the plants in Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu and Oita prefectures, all far from the quake-stricken Tohoku and northeastern Kanto regions, have not been damaged but it may consider transferring production to outside Japan for the time being if the parts shortages continue. The five plants mainly manufacture broadcasting equipment, cameras, mobile phones, flat TV displays and microphones.

Meanwhile, the company resumed some of its operations today at a battery production factory in Shimotsuke, Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo. It is also working to restore its seven factories in the Tohoku region and Ibaraki Prefecture, but has not decided on when it can resume production at the plants.