Sony has announced that they will be cutting 8,000 jobs to save costs of $1.1 billion a year as the worldwide economic downturn and a stronger Yen wreak havoc on the Japanese electronics maker. Sony has 185,000 jobs so the 8,000 jobs represent about 4% of the total workforce. The job cuts, all of which will come in the electronics division, should be complete by 2010.

Senior Vice President Naofumi Hara detailed how the global recession was hitting the whole world. “Now we are all facing a recession together,” he said. “It is impossible to predict how much longer the situation will last.”

Sony’s announcement comes amid similar news from other Japanese manufacturers, which face plunging demand at home and abroad, as well as falling gadget prices and currency fluctuations. But Sony’s job cuts are Japan’s biggest since the U.S. credit crunch hit over the summer.

Sony. famous creating the original Walkman and of course the superior PlayStation3 game console, is particularly vulnerable to a stronger Yen since 80% of their sales come from overseas. The dollar has dropped from about 117 Yen last year to approximately 93 Yen at present.

The good news in all of this is that the video game division appears to be unaffected. Therefore, development and promotion for the PS3 and PSP should continue unabated.

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