Sony Ericsson is cutting its workforce by 20 per cent as part of efforts to restore profitability at the troubled mobile phone maker.

The move to axe 2,000 staff and contractors in 2009 from the 10,000-strong workforce follows hard on the heels of last year’s removal of 2,000 jobs. It underlines how Dick Komiyama, Sony Ericsson’s president, is developing a reputation as an aggressive cost-cutter.