Sony Ericsson shuts down Chennai R&D centre, 60 jobs on line

Sony Ericsson is closing down its R&D centre in Chennai, and the future of the 60 engineers it used to employ at the unit appears uncertain at the moment. Reports indicate that the mobile-handset maker is also terminating operations at three other centres across the world.

The company has told the media in India that the Chennai centre, which was established in 2007 to develop entry-level phones, had been hit by financial crises.

Aldo Liguori, Sony Ericsson's corporate vice-president and the head of global communications, has been reported as saying that the entry-level strategy had yielded several unprofitable quarters and that the company now wanted to focus on mid-end and higher-end phones.

As for Sony Ericsson's Chennai centre, it is not yet known if the employees would be absorbed into other unites. The company has asserted, however, that its sales & marketing office, located in New Delhi, will remain operational.