Tokyo  - Sony Corp on Thursday said it expected an operating loss for the fiscal year 2008 of 260 billion yen (2.9 billion dollars) after earlier projecting a
200-billion-yen profit.

It would be the first time the Japanese home electronics giant would suffer an operating loss in 14 years.

The company expected to incur a net loss of 150 billion yen for the fiscal year, which ends March 31, while it also revised downward its sales projections to 7.7 trillion yen from an initial 9 trillion yen.

Because of the expected loss, Sony said it planned to close a television manufacturing plant and cut 2,000 full-time jobs in Japan.

Sony had earlier announced a cost-cutting plan that included more than 16,000 job cuts in and outside Japan. (dpa)