EXCLUSIVE: Sony Australia who recently reported a 23% decline in revenues has moved to retrench most of their finance department after being hit $32 million for back taxes and $21 million in penalties and interest after an ATO investigation.
ChannelNews has been told that the entire Sony Australia finance and administration department is being outsourced to Asia with most of their Australian finance staff already been given a pink slip.
Contacts at the Company have told ChannelNews that moral at the Company is at “an all-time” low and that most of the back office functions will be moved to Asia.
“Two staff will be kept on till December” said one source.
Recently Sony Corporation announced that they were streamlining their global operations in an effort to cut costs. ChannelNews understands that the decision to transfer the back office operations of Sony Australia was made by Sony regional management based in Singapore following the ATO investigation.
One of the first victims of the ATO investigation and the decision to outsource their finance operations was Nicholas Foster, the former chief operating and finance officer.
Sony Australia has not commented on the axing of staff or how many staff have been retrenched.
The decision to hit Sony with massive ATO penalties and back taxes claims followed an ATO investigation relating to Sony Australia tax returns for the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010.
