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Sony is preparing to cut its workforce by 10,000, or 6 per cent of its global headcount, as part of a restructuring that has seen the Japanese electronics and entertainment group sell two divisions and drastically scale back its television production plans, CNN reported.

The cuts are to be announced on Thursday at a strategy briefing by Kazuo Hirai, who took over as chief executive on April 1. It will be the third significant round of staff reductions at the Japanese group since 2005.

When Mr Hirai's appointment as chief executive was announced in February, he promised to make "unavoidable, painful choices" to fix or dispose of lossmaking operations and turn the company round after what will be its fourth straight year in the red.

About half the job cuts result from deals that have already been announced: Sony's sale last month of a chemicals subsidiary to the Development Bank of Japan, a state-backed lender, and its decision last year to spin off production of small liquid crystal displays into a joint venture with Hitachi and Toshiba.