Sony Corp has announced a restructuring of its business into three group companies and five division companies. The current structure, which dates from 1983, no longer suits the diversified Sony organisation, said President Norio Ohga, but observers see the re-organisation as a move to prepare the company for a new age of leadership of men other than the founders, the most famous of whom, chairman Akio Morita, had major heart surgery late last year. While it now appears that he will recover, there is little thought of his assumption of the major reins of power at Sony. President Ohga has also been in the job for over 12 years. The three group companies, which do not appear to have been named yet, are a consumer audiovisual company, a components company and a recording media and battery company, while the five division companies will act in the fields of broadcasting equipment, systems business, personal information and communication, mobile electronics and semiconductors.
