JAPAN: Power shortages could force Sony into two-week shutdown

Sony HQ Tokyo

Sony says it's considering a two-week shutdown at some of its factories in Japan due to the power shortages caused by earthquake damage to the country's nuclear and thermal power stations.

The company says it's planning to give staff two weeks off during the summer months in order to save energy.

Last week the Japanese government set energy-saving targets and asked manufacturers to reduce their energy consumption.

Sony says that it is proposing to bring forward various national holidays and ask its staff to work on public holidays and weekends later in the year when the power supply situation is likely to have improved.

Toyota has already suspended production at most of its plants in Japan, and Nissan and Honda have been forced to slow production at their factories.

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Andy Clough

Andy is Global Brand Director of What Hi-Fi? and has been a technology journalist for 30 years. During that time he has covered everything from VHS and Betamax, MiniDisc and DCC to CDi, Laserdisc and 3D TV, and any number of other formats that have come and gone. He loves nothing better than a good old format war. Andy edited several hi-fi and home cinema magazines before relaunching whathifi.com in 2008 and helping turn it into the global success it is today. When not listening to music or watching TV, he spends far too much of his time reading about cars he can't afford to buy.