Sony says sorry for battery recall Bows all round but no one bows out
By Nick Farrell: Wednesday 25 October 2006, 10:04
THE MAKER of exploding batteries, Sony has apologised to users for the "inconvenience caused" by its global recall. According to the Globe and Mail, in making the formal apology, the Sony Corporate Executive Officer Yutaka Nakagawa bowed to the press, something we don't see much of in the West.
However other Sony executives broke with the ancient tradition and stayed in their seats while their bowing boss said sorry. Maybe they were less sorry than him.
Nakagawa said that now that the problems had been all fixed, it was totally unnecessary for any of its high-flying management team to resign over the cock-up.
This is despite the fact that Sony slashed its profit forecasts last week claiming the battery recall, and the fact it had to drop the silly price of its next-generation PlayStation 3, were responsible.
A spokesSony said that improvements in production, design and inspection would prevent a recurrence of any laptop overheating problems. He confirmed that the problems were caused by microscopic metal particles that mistakenly got inside the battery, causing short-circuiting.
Top management, including Chief Executive Howard Stringer and President Ryoji Chubachi, who also did not bow, would stay on at the company, Sony officials said.
