It’s no secret that Sony has been hurting as of late. They posted a first time loss last quarter. Their PlayStation division is still bleeding and Sony Ericsson just reported a 50% sales drop from a year ago. Times are tough indeed. To counter the recession and poor performing divisions, Sony in the past few months has cut thousands of jobs and closed plants. But to further their agenda, Sony is announcing that they will be freezing worker salaries for the financial year starting next month. Reuters notes, “Sony normally raises employee pay annually based on their role and performance, rather than seniority like many other Japanese companies, and this latest move follows some pay cuts to many of the very same affected workers, who’ve recently seen their wages drop by 10 to 20%.” As Engadget notes, other Japanese companies like Toshiba, NEX and Hitachi are planning similar moves, but none of the companies seem to be ready to announce such measures just yet. I guess it’s better to have your salary cut then to be fired right? Though times indeed, worse when you sell premium equipment.