The company is cutting 250 jobs and will eventually cease production of some optical disc products, according to reports from Japan. The exact consequences are unclear.
Sony, one of the pioneers of optical media formats, is making significant cuts to its key manufacturing and research hub for its recordable media business in Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
Out of around 670 employees, approximately 250 will leave or retire from the division due to declining demand for optical disc formats such as Blu-ray, according to multiple reports from Japan.
Impact on multiple divisions
We currently have three independent reports from Japan: Yahoo Japan, Nippon and The Mainichi.
- "The company will cease developing optical discs. Production will also end eventually. It will continue selling them for the time being," reports Japanese newspaper Nippon.
- "The company will also gradually withdraw from the production of optical discs such as BDs. The workforce reductions will affect Sony Storage Media Solutions and Sony Storage Media Manufacturing," reports Yahoo Japan.
- "The electronics and entertainment conglomerate will also gradually cease production of optical disc storage media products, including Blu-ray discs, according to the sources," reports The Mainichi in an English-language article.
Blu-rays not expected to disappear
While Sony, which has been heavily involved in both research and production of optical discs for decades, is clearly scaling back its optical disc operations, we do not expect Blu-ray and UHD Blu-ray movie discs to be affected at this time.
It appears that at least initially affected products include mainly recordable media products such as blank discs and disc-based storage products.
Other disc manufacturers are able to take over the production of blank discs as well as optical discs used for movies and games.
Sony has not launched any new UHD Blu-ray players since 2019. Depicted here is the UBP-X800M2. Photo: Sony
It is speculated that this decision could affect Sony's Blu-ray and UHD Blu-ray players. Sony's current UHD Blu-ray players were launched in 2019. It is also expected to impact research into optical discs.
Also read: The State of Ultra HD Blu-ray in 2024
The exact consequences will only become clear over time, as Sony has yet to comment on the matter, but for now we have no reason to believe that Blu-ray and UHD Blu-ray movies will disappear due to Sony's decision. This is, however, a sign of the times, with the optical disc market continuing to decline globally every year.
- Source: The Mainichi, Nippon, Yahoo Japan
