Sony’s record year will see Japan employees receive ‘seven months’ salary’ bonuses

Sony is reportedly set to pay its Japanese employees record-high bonuses, ahead of the expected announcement of its highest ever net profits for the year ending this month.

According to NHK, the corporation will pay out the equivalent of seven months’ salary, which is higher than the 6.9 months its union had asked for.

NHK notes that it’s unusual for management to set an amount higher than a union request, and it’s the first time in two decades for Sony to show such generosity.

Seasonal bonuses are typically paid twice yearly to Japanese salaried workers, with amounts fluctuating annually, and are effectively considered to be part of a worker’s salary.

Sony is expected to report a record net profit of about 10 billion dollars for the year ending this month, boosted by a surge in demand for entertainment as people stayed at home during the pandemic.

Sony’s gaming business is on course for its best-ever year, according to its latest financial results published in February, when it announced it had shipped 4.5 million PS5 consoles between the system’s November launch and December 31, 2020.

Sony revised its full-year forecast for the Games and Network Services division up to $25 billion in revenue, and ¥340bn ($3.2 billion) in operating profit, which would represent a record year for the division.

Sony’s music segment, which includes its popular anime business, also posted strong numbers for the year, which were boosted by its most recent quarter when recorded music revenues were up 17.5% year-on year.

Sony said last October that its initial PS5 sales goal was to outpace PS4’s launch sales achieved during the second half of the company’s FY2013, when the console shipped 7.5 million units.

“We are currently on track to meet our sales goal for the fiscal year of more than 7.6 million units, but we have not been able to fully meet the high level of demand from customers,” the company said on Wednesday.

“We continue to do everything in our power to ship as many units as possible to customers who are waiting for a PS5.”