Tokyo, March 10 (RHC)-- Japanese electronics giant Sony says it will slash 1,000 jobs at a mobile phone unit in Sweden. The layoffs come as part of a plan to cut 2,100 jobs across the world, Sony Mobile Communications spokeswoman Kajsa Petersson said on Monday. She said that 800 employees have already been laid off in China.

Last month, Sony Corporation unveiled plans to lay off an additional 1,000 members of its workforce in the company’s smartphone business across Europe and China.

The electronics company has been lagging far behind key competitors such as South Korea-based Samsung Electronics and the US-based Apple Corporation. Some reports say Sony intends to reduce its workforce by 30% to 5,000 through March 2016. The layoffs are said to be part of a restructuring plan by the Japanese company to boost its earnings.