( CNN ) -- Based on profits , Sony Corp. is an outstanding company -- in life insurance sales and hit movies such as the `` Men in Black '' and `` Spider-Man '' franchises . But in the industry where Sony made its name -- consumer electronics -- the company needs a lifeline as it finishes its fiscal year with a record $ 6.4 billion loss . New CEO Kazuo Hirai , who took the helm on April 1 , promised Thursday to cut 10,000 jobs -- about 6 % of its workforce -- in the next year . Moreover , Hirai is refocusing the business away from its once mighty television division to focus on the core businesses of digital imaging , game and mobile products . `` Our entertainment and financial services are poised for future growth , '' Hirai said . `` Our biggest challenge : Rebuilding and future growth of our electronics business . ( That ) wo n't come about by easy fixes or tricks . We must tackle it head-on . '' The company plans to grow its medical instruments division , he said , and reinvest in research and design . `` We must surprise customers with innovative projects , that represents Sony 's return to glory . `` Now is the time for Sony to change , '' he declared , a refrain throughout the hour-long press conference . Sony faced the same headwinds battling Japan Inc. the past year . The yen reached record highs , eroding profit margins for export-driven companies . Natural disasters hit balance sheets , with record floods in Thailand -- a center for offshore electronics production -- doing as much financial damage as the 2011 Tohoku quake and tsunami for some Japanese firms . Sony 's annus horribilis was further mired by the hacking of its popular PlayStation Network , compromising the personal data of more than 77 million users . But Sony 's problems predate these recent woes -- the conglomerate has failed to turn a profit for the past four years . `` If you look at the automobile industry in Japan , it did n't suffer as much as the electronics makers , '' said Thomas Kang , research director for Strategy Analytics in Seoul . `` So you ca n't just blame the exchange rate -- there 's something else wrong here . '' The problem , analysts say , represents an existential crisis for Sony : Does it want to be a content company or a gadget maker ? Hirai 's steps to scale down its television operations were long overdue , analysts said . `` The television business has n't made any more for the last eight years -- any rational manager would have shut that down by now , '' said Ben Collett , head of Japanese equities for Louis Capital Markets . `` I do n't know how you can run a business that loses that kind of money . '' The company 's share price under previous CEO Sir Howard Stringer hit a high of 7,150 yen in May 2007 in the wake of the company 's PlayStation3 release . But the price has dropped nearly 80 % in the past five years . `` My view on a stock is always relative to its price , and for a long time now there have been better stocks and better companies in almost every line of business that Sony is in , save possibly for its financial services business , '' Collett said . For the company that revolutionized the electronics world with low-cost televisions and iconic devices such as the Walkman , the company 's core business is now an albatross around its neck -- outmaneuvered by more nimble companies such as Apple and undercut on price by competitors like Samsung . `` In the case of electronics , the life cycle is much shorter , there have been a lot of new breakthroughs , '' Kung said . `` Sony did n't make the right choices when it had to , '' such as sticking with plasma televisions while Samsung threw its resources into making lower-cost LCD models , Kung added . Or letting Apple and its iPod walk away with the portable music market Sony created . To be sure , Sony has taken steps toward returning to profitability . The company has also halved the amount of televisions it 's projected to sell in the next year . The company bought out partner Ericsson to try to regain a footing in the smartphone market . This month , Sony partnered with Toshiba and Hitachi to create Japan Display Inc. , a government-backed project to create smartphone displays . But Sony 's real problem , analysts say , is the company 's ability to steer its myriad businesses in the same direction . `` The number one thing is , they need a very strong control tower like Samsung and Apple , '' Kung said . `` If you want to move fast , you have a strong control tower . '' Hirai acknowledged this in Thursday 's press conference , saying the restructured company will be `` one Sony , one management . '' Consumers and investors will wait see whether this new head of one of Japan 's iconic companies can succeed where predecessors have failed . CNN 's Kyung Lah and Jonathan Stayton contributed to this report .
Sony 's new CEO has pledged to cut 10,000 jobs - about 6 % of its workforce . Comes after the company finishes its fiscal year with a record $ 6.4 billion loss . The iconic Japanese conglomerate has n't made a profit in four years . The firm 's electronics business has been hit by low-cost competitors .